Engineering Commons^™

Conversion Of Biomass To Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels Via Anaerobic Digestion: A Feasibility Study, Ahmad Naqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of biomass as a potential feedstock for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels has been under investigation in the last few decades. This paper discusses a preliminary design and a feasibility study of producing liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass through a combined biochemical and thermochemical route. The process involves anaerobic digestion (AD) of the biodegradable portion of the biomass to produce methane rich gas. The methane rich biogas stream is purified by removing contaminants and upgraded to liquid hydrocarbon fuel in a gas to liquid facility (GTL) via thermochemical conversion route. The biogas conversion involves two major steps: …

Adsorption Of Dyes On New Synthesised Layered Double Hydroxide Materials, Intissar Harizi

Western Research Forum

No abstract provided.

Application Of Cross-Linked Polyborosiloxanes And Organically Modified Boron Silicate Binders In Silicon-Containing Anodes For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Darius A. Shariaty, Dali Qian, Yang-Tse Cheng, Susan A. Odom

Chemistry Faculty Publications

To determine the effect of cross-linking in polymer binders on gravimetric capacity and retention in charge/discharge cycling of lithium-ion batteries containing silicon anodes, polymers with a varied chemiophysical characters have been studied as electrode binders. Here we report the utilization of cross-linked polyborosiloxanes and a boron-modified organosilicate as binders for nanoparticulate silicon-containing anodes for lithium-ion batteries. We show that highly cross-linked binders enable a large degree of capacity to be accessed and that capacity retention is greater when the electrodes are cycled in half cells. More extensive analysis of the boron-modified organosilicate is further explored.

Supported Perovskite-Type Oxides: Establishing A Foundation For Co2 Conversion Through Reverse Water-Gas Shift Chemical Looping, Bryan J. Hare

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Perovskite-type oxides show irrefutable potential for feasible thermochemical solar-driven CO₂ conversion. These materials exhibit the exact characteristics required by the low temperature reverse water-gas shift chemical looping process. These properties include structural endurance and high oxygen redox capacity, which results in the formation of numerous oxygen vacancies, or active sites for CO₂ conversion. A major drawback is the decrease in oxygen self-diffusion with increasing perovskite particle size. In this study, the La_0.75Sr_0.25FeO₃ (LSF) perovskite oxide was combined with various supports including popular redox materials CeO₂ and ZrO₂ along with more abundant …

Effect Of Pipe Rotation On Casing Pressure Within Mpd Applications, Zahrah Ahmed Al Marhoon

LSU Master's Theses

Well control is one of the most crucial sectors in drilling engineering. Human lives and safety depend on the correct execution of the engineering design. Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) is a new technology that has recently emerged in the oil and gas industry. It has special well control abilities supported by the RCD to continue drilling or carry operations that involve pipe rotation, while circulating out a gas kick. This thesis examines the effect of pipe rotation on casing pressure profiles within MPD kick circulation application. The analysis was carried on real scale kick experiments. These experiments were carried in …

Orthogonal Photo-Switching Of Supramolecular Patterned Surfaces, Dongsheng Wang, Frank Schellenberger, Jonathan T. Pham, Hans-Jürgen Butt, Si Wu

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

We used Azo/α-CD and ipAzo/γ-CD host–guest complexes to demonstrate that four independent stable states can be orthogonally photo-switched by UV (365 nm), blue (470 nm), green (530 nm) and red light (625 nm). A supramolecular patterned surface was fabricated and orthogonally photo-switched by light with different wavelengths.

New Flow Assurance System With High Speed Subsea Fiber Optic Monitoring Of Pressure And Temperature, John Hedengren, David Brower, J. Conrad Wilson, Geoff High, Karl Witherow

Faculty Publications

Subsea production control systems are instrumented to constantly monitor flowline pressure and temperature at key locations to prevent plugging and introduce mitigating control strategies. New fiber optic sensors with ruggedized construction and non-electrical components are subjected to accelerated aging tests and deployed in several installations with long service life. An overview of current progress with fiber optic technology is provided for fatigue monitoring, temperature, pressure, and strain sensing. Recent developments include improved service life, novel bonding methods, pipeline sensor station improvements, sensor calibration, and long-term fatigue analysis.

The latest advancements are validated on multiple installations on a subsea tieback in …

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis Of Palladium Nanoparticles Supported On Copper Oxide In Aqueous Medium As An Efficient Catalyst For Suzuki Cross-Coupling Reaction, Hany A. Elazab, M. A. Sadek, Tamer T. El-Idreesy

Chemical Engineering

We report here a reliable green method for the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles supported on copper oxide as a highly active and efficient catalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The experimental synthetic approach is based on microwave-assisted chemical reduction of an aqueous mixture of palladium and copper salt simultaneously using hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent. The catalyst was fully characterized using various techniques showing well-dispersed palladium nanoparticles. The catalytic activity and recyclability of the prepared catalyst were experimentally explored in the ligand-free Suzuki cross-coupling reaction with a diverse series of functionalized substrates. The synthesized Pd/CuO catalyst shows many advantages beside its …

Special Issue: Combined Scheduling And Control, John Hedengren, Logan Beal

Faculty Publications

This Special Issue (SI) of Processes, “Combined Scheduling and Control,” includes approaches to formulating combined objective functions, multi-scale approaches to integration, mixed discrete and continuous formulations, estimation of uncertain control and scheduling states, mixed integer and nonlinear programming advances, benchmark development, comparison of centralized and decentralized methods, and software that facilitates the creation of new applications and long-term sustainment of benefits. Contributions acknowledge strengths, weaknesses, and potential further advancements, along with a demonstration of improvement over current industrial best-practice.

Injectable Glass Polyalkenoate Cements: Evaluation Of Their Rheological And Mechanical Properties With And Without The Incorporation Of Lidocaine Hydrochloride, P. Niranjan, A. Alhalawani, S. Phull, I. Beniluz, B. Krishnan, P. Zalzal, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lidocaine hydrochloride is used as an anesthetic in many clinical applications. This short communication investigates the effect of complete substitution of lidocaine hydrochloride for deionized (DI) water on the physico-chemical properties of two novel glass polyalkenoate cements. Substituting DI water with lidocaine hydrochloride resulted in cements with shorter working times but comparable setting times and mechanical properties. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed that the setting reaction in cements containing DI water and lidocaine hydrochloride was completed within 24 h, post cement preparation and maturation. Further, it was explained that lidocaine hydrochloride binds to poly(acrylic) acid (PAA) due to electrostatic forces …

Occurrence Of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs) In A Sanitary Sewer System: Implications For Assessing Vapor Intrusion Alternative Pathways, Mohammadyousef Roghani, Olivia P. Jacobs, Anthony Miller, Evan James Willett, James A. Jacobs, C. Ricardo Viteri, Elham Shirazi, Kelly G. Pennell

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Sewer systems have been recently recognized as potentially important exposure pathways to consider during vapor intrusion assessments; however, this pathway has not been well-characterized and there is need for additional information about the occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in sewer systems. This paper reports the results of sewer gas sampling conducted in a sanitary sewer over the years of 2014–2017. Sewer gas samples were collected and analyzed using several different techniques, including TO-15 (grab), TO-17 (passive), Radiello® (passive) and a novel continuous monitoring technique, the Autonomous Rugged Optical Multigas Analyzer (AROMA). The applicability of each of the different approaches …

The Effect Of Weak Confinement On The Orientation Of Nanorods Under Shear Flows, Saman Monjezi, James D. Jones, Alyssa K. Nelson, Joontaek Park

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We performed a numerical analysis to study the orientation distribution of a dilute suspension of thin, rigid, rod-like nanoparticles under shearing flow near a solid boundary of weak confinement. Brownian dynamics simulation of a rod was performed under various ratios of shear rate and rod diffusivity (Peclet number), as well as the center-of-mass position (wall confinement). We discuss the effects of Peclet number and wall confinement on the angle distributions, Jeffery orbit distribution and average orientation moments. The average orientation moments, obtained as a function of Peclet number and wall confinement, can be used to improve a previous shear-induced migration …

System, Devices And Methods For Molecular Separation, Sankar Nair, Christopher W. Jones, Fereshteh Rashidi, Ali A. Rownaghi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Systems, devices and methods for molecular separation including a molecular separation device comprising at least a polycrystalline metal-organic framework (MOF) and a nanocrystalline, zeolite MFI, wherein the MOF forms a polycrystalline membrane with zeolite MFI nanoparticles dispersed therein, and the MOF membrane matrix contacting and surrounding the zeolite MFI nanoparticles form a permselective nanoporous structure.

A Continuum Model Of Mucosa With Glycan-Ion Pairing, James D. Sterling, Shenda M. Baker

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advances in the study of glycosoaminoglycan biohydrogels, label-free electrokinetic analysis of soft-diffuse layers in contact with saline solutions, and elucidation of ion-specific behavior in many biochemical systems offer the opportunity to marry these principal features in a new mathematical model of the mucosal glycocalyx. The model is based on the electroquasistatic subset of Maxwell's equations in the form of the steady-state continuum Poisson–Boltzmann equation for electrostatics with explicit incorporation of pairwise binding of ions to fixed charged-groups in the hydrogel. The pairwise association is modeled using reversible bimolecular reactions via stoichiometric dissociation constants that represent the rule of matching water …

Optimization Of A New Array Noise Tool; Analysis & Interpretation Of Case Studies Of Down- Hole Leak Detection, Moustafa Mahmoud Hassan Ismail

Theses

This thesis is concerned with the optimization and analysis of new array noise tools. Various lab and field case studies are analyzed to test the capabilities and determine the optimum operating conditions of the new tool for leak detection purposes. The purpose of this study is to optimize the logging procedure of real-time array noise tool, selecting adequate gain parameters and frequency band in the processing phase, and to analyze the data acquired through multiple labs and field tests. The study methodology involved the following steps:

1. Performing lab and field tests for the tool in a range of different …

The Effect Of Mg²⁺ Incorporation Into The Glass Phase Of Zinc-Based Glass Polyalkenoate Cements, Basel A. Khader, Omar Rodriguez, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The suitability of glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) as injectable adhesives in orthopedics have been compromised by the presence of aluminum (Al), a component in the glass phase of all commercial GPCs. There has been considerable work on the development of Al-free GPCs which can be formulated based on calcium (Ca) zinc (Zn) silicate (Si) glasses. These materials, in terms of biocompatibility and mechanical properties, have potential for orthopedics. However, many of these experimental Al-free GPCs have setting times shorter than 60 s, restricting clinical applications. Here, the authors incorporate Magnesium (Mg) into the glass phase of Al-free GPCs in an …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Nickel-Rich Cathode Material Lini0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 With High Initial Coulombic Efficiency, Xiao-Yun Guan, Chao-Yu Hong, Jian-Ping Zhu, Wei-Li Wang, Yi-Xiao Li, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nickel-rich cathode materials LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn_0.2O₂(NCM622)were synthesized by a co-precipitation-solid state sintering method at different temperatures. The structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of the as-prepared materials were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) /Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical experiments. It is found that NCM622 calcined at 800 ℃ showed the lowest degree of cation disorder (~1.97%) with a high initial Coulombic effiency of 92.2% and the capacity retention of 81.4% after 100 cycles.

Preparation And Electrocatalytic Activity Of Nitrogen-Doping Tungsten Carbide Catalyst, Pian-Pian Yang, Li-Zhen Huang, Ying-Ying Li, Mei-Qin Shi, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

Tungsten carbide (WC) is a promising electrocatalyst, however, its electrocatalytic activity is far inferior to Pt and Pt-group metal. In this work, nitrogen-doping tungsten carbide (WN|WC) catalysts with a nanoplate morphology were prepared via the tungsten nitride (WN) as the precursor and sodium tungstate as the tungsten source. The SEM and TEM results indicated that carbon atoms entered into the WN lattice to form the hexagonal close packed WC phase. In this way, an atomic scale heterostructure involving the closely linked interfaces between WN and WC was created . The XRD data confirmed that the cubic crystal structure of WN …

Mechanical Properties And Flame Retardancy Of Surface Modified Magnesium Oxysulfate (5mg(Oh)2·Mgso4·3h2o) Whisker For Polypropylene Composites, Eui-Su Kim, Ye Chan Kim, Jungwoo Park, Youngjun Kim, Sung-Hoon Kim, Kwang Jin Kim, Jonghwan Suhr, Youngkwan Lee, Seong Hoon Lee, Dae-Sik Kim, Soo-Hyun Kim, Ju-Ho Yun, In-Kyung Park, Jae-Do Nam

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Magnesium oxysulfate (MOS) whisker is considered as a promising inorganic material recently attracting a great attention for being used as a reinforcing filler for polymer composites due to high aspect ratio and extremely-low bulk density. In this study, the MOS was treated with 3-methacryloyloxypropyl-trimethoxy silane (MPS) via sol-gel condensation reactions, which successfully allowed melt mixing with polypropylene (PP) up to 30 wt% of MOS. The tensile strength at yield and modulus of the MOS/PP composites were substantially increased by 50.8% and 362%, respectively, when compared with the pristine PP. As a novel finding, the flame retardancy of MOS was proved …

In Situ Uv-Visible Assessment Of Iron-Based High-Temperature Water-Gas Shift Catalysts Promoted With Lanthana: An Extent Of Reduction Study, Basseem B. Hallac, Jared C. Brown, Eli Stavitski, Roger G. Harrison, Morris D. Argyle

Faculty Publications

The extent of reduction of unsupported iron-based high-temperature water-gas shift catalysts with small (< 5 wt %) lanthana contents was studied using UV-visible spectroscopy. Temperature- programmed reduction measurements showed that lanthana content higher than 0.5 wt % increased the extent of reduction to metallic Fe, while 0.5 wt % of lanthana facilitated the reduction to Fe₃O₄. In situ measurements on the iron oxide catalysts using mass and UV-visible spectroscopies permitted the quantification of the extent of reduction under temperature-programmed reduction and high-temperature water-gas shift conditions. The oxidation states were successfully calibrated against normalized absorbance spectra of visible light using the Kubelka-Munk theory. The normalized absorbance relative to the fully oxidized Fe₂O₃ increased as the extent of reduction increased. XANES suggested that the average bulk iron oxidation state during the water-gas shift reaction was Fe^{+2.57 …}

Raman Spectroscopy Predicts The Link Between Claw Keratin And Bone Collagen Structure In A Rodent Model Of Oestrogen Deficiency, M. Clare Caraher, Antonia Sophocleous, J. Renwick Beattie, Olive O'Driscoll, Niamh M. Cummins, Orlaith Brennan, Fergal J. O'Brien, Stuart H. Ralston, Steven E.J. Bell, Mark R. Towler, Aymen I. Idris

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Osteoporosis is a common disease characterized by reduced bone mass and an increased risk of fragility fractures. Low bone mineral density is known to significantly increase the risk of osteoporotic fractures; however, the majority of non-traumatic fractures occur in individuals with a bone mineral density too high to be classified as osteoporotic. Therefore, there is an urgent need to investigate aspects of bone health, other than bone mass, that can predict the risk of fracture. Here, we successfully predicted association between bone collagen and nail keratin in relation to bone loss due to oestrogen deficiency using Raman spectroscopy. Raman signal …

Some Insights Into The Migration Of Double Imaginary Roots Under Small Deviation Of Two Parameters, Dina Alina Irofti, Keqin Gu, Islam Boussaada, Silviu-Iulian Niculescu

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This paper studies the migration of double imaginary roots of the systems’ characteristic equation when two parameters are subjected to small deviations. The proposed approach covers a wide range of models. Under the least degeneracy assumptions, we found that the local stability crossing curve has a cusp at the point that corresponds to the double root, and it divides the neighborhood of this point into an S-sector and a G-sector. When the parameters move into the G-sector, one of the roots moves to the right halfplane, and the other moves to the left half-plane. When the parameters move into the …

Nanoporous Carbon-Based Co2 Reduction Catalysts: Exploring The Combined Effects Of Surface Chemistry And Porosity, Wanlu Li

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For the first-time sulfur-doped, nitrogen-doped and sulfur, nitrogen-codoped nanoporous carbons were systematically studied as catalysts for CO₂ electrochemical reduction reaction (CO₂ERR). The Faradaic efficiencies (FE) of CO and CH₄ formation were calculated to evaluate the performance of these carbons. The best catalysts showed the FE of CO and CH₄ formation of 29% and 0.76%, respectively. It was found that the overall performance in CO₂ERR dramatically increased upon the reduction pretreatment of the carbons in N₂-saturated electrolyte before the CO₂ reduction process. The pretreated carbon showed the maximum FE of CO …

Kinetic Modelling And Experimental Studies For The Effects Of Fe2+ Ions On Xylan Hydrolysis With Dilute-Acid Pretreatment And Subsequent Enzymatic Hydrolysis, Hui Wei, Xiaowen Chen, Joseph Shekiro, Erik Kuhn, Wei Wang, Yun Ji, Evguenii Kozliak, Michael E. Himmel, Melvin P. Tucker

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

High-temperature (150–170 °C) pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass with mineral acids is well established for xylan breakdown. Fe²⁺ is known to be a cocatalyst of this process although kinetics of its action remains unknown. The present work addresses the effect of ferrous ion concentration on sugar yield and degradation product formation from corn stover for the entire two-step treatment, including the subsequent enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis. The feedstock was impregnated with 0.5% acid and 0.75 mM iron cocatalyst, which was found to be optimal in preliminary experiments. The detailed kinetic data of acid pretreatment, with and without iron, was satisfactorily modelled …

Image-Based Modeling Of Flow Through Porous Media: Development Of Multiscale Techniques For The Pore Level, Timothy Wayne Thibodeaux

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Increasingly, imaging technology allows porous media problems to be modeled at microscopic and sub-microscopic levels with finer resolution. However, the physical domain size required to be representative of the media prohibits comprehensive micro-scale simulation. A hybrid or multiscale approach is necessary to overcome this challenge. In this work, a technique was developed for determining the characteristic scales of porous materials, and a multiscale modeling methodology was developed to better understand the interaction/dependence of phenomena occurring at different microscopic scales. The multiscale method couples microscopic simulations at the pore and sub-pore scales. Network modeling is a common pore-scale technique which employs …

Pit Evolution Around The Fusion Line Of A Nicrmov Steel Welded Joint Caused By Galvanic And Stress-Assisted Coupling Corrosion, Shuo Weng, Yuhui Huang, Fuzhen Xuan, Fuqian Yang

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

The corrosion of NiCrMoV steel welded joints is performed in an aqueous solution of 3.5 wt% NaCl at 180 °C in a container at a pressure of 0.8 MPa. The specimens in the shape of cylindrical tensile rods are immersed in the aqueous solution under the action of tensile stress in a range of 0 to 0.9 of the yield stress of the base metal. The experimental results suggest that there is macro-galvanic corrosion in the welded joint with the coarse-grained heat affected zone (CGHAZ) as anode due to the highest corrosion susceptibility of the CGHAZ. The CGHAZ has the …

Correlation Of Structure, Function And Protein Dynamics In Gh7 Cellobiohydrolases From Trichoderma Atroviride, T. Reesei And T. Harzianum, Anna S. Borisova, Elena V. Eneyskaya, Suvamay Jana, Silke F. Badino, Jeppe Kari, Antonella Amore, Magnus Karlsson, Henrik Hansson, Mats Sandgren, Michael E. Himmel, Peter Westh, Christina M. Payne, Anna A. Kulminskaya, Jerry Ståhlberg

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: The ascomycete fungus Trichoderma reesei is the predominant source of enzymes for industrial conversion of lignocellulose. Its glycoside hydrolase family 7 cellobiohydrolase (GH7 CBH) TreCel7A constitutes nearly half of the enzyme cocktail by weight and is the major workhorse in the cellulose hydrolysis process. The orthologs from Trichoderma atroviride (TatCel7A) and Trichoderma harzianum (ThaCel7A) show high sequence identity with TreCel7A, ~ 80%, and represent naturally evolved combinations of cellulose-binding tunnel-enclosing loop motifs, which have been suggested to influence intrinsic cellobiohydrolase properties, such as endo-initiation, processivity, and off-rate.

Results: The TatCel7A, ThaCel7A, …

Solid Acid Catalyst Based On Single-Layer Α-Zirconium Phosphate Nanosheets For Biodiesel Production Via Esterification, Yingjie Zhou, Iman Noshadi, Hao Ding, Jingjing Liu, Richard Parnas, Abraham Clearfield, Min Xiao, Yuezhong Meng, Luyi Sun

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

In this study, a solid acid was prepared by the sulfonation of surface modified α-zirconium phosphate (ZrP) single-layer nanosheets (SO3H@ZrP), and the prepared solid acid was investigated for the esterification of oleic acid with methanol to produce biodiesel. For comparison, liquid H2SO4 and commercial Amberlyst® 15 catalyst were also evaluated for the same reaction under the same conditions. The experimental results showed that the SO3H@ZrP solid acid catalyst has a superior catalytic efficiency for the esterification reaction, as well as excellent recyclability. The SO3H@ZrP single-layer solid acid catalyst can be uniformly dispersed in the reaction media, but remains heterogeneous and …

Comparison Of Eosin And Fluorescein Conjugates For The Photoinitiation Of Cell-Compatible Polymer Coatings, Jacob L. Lilly, Anuhya Gottipati, Calvin F. Cahall, Mohamed Agoub, Brad J. Berron

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Targeted photopolymerization is the basis for multiple diagnostic and cell encapsulation technologies. While eosin is used in conjunction with tertiary amines as a water-soluble photoinitiation system, eosin is not widely sold as a conjugate with antibodies and other targeting biomolecules. Here we evaluate the utility of fluorescein-labeled bioconjugates to photopolymerize targeted coatings on live cells. We show that although fluorescein conjugates absorb approximately 50% less light energy than eosin in matched photopolymerization experiments using a 530 nm LED lamp, appreciable polymer thicknesses can still be formed in cell compatible environments with fluorescein photosensitization. At low photoinitiator density, eosin allows more …

Specific Nanoporous Geometries On Anodized Alumina Surfaces Influence Astrocyte Adhesion And Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Immunoreactivity Levels, D. Ganguly, C. D.L. Johnson, M. K. Gottipati, D. Rende, D. A. Borca-Tasciuc, R. J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrodes implanted in the brain or spinal cord trigger the activation of resident astrocytes. In their reactive state, astrocytes surrounding the electrode form a glial scar, compromising the ability of the electrode to interface with the surrounding neural tissue. One approach to reduce the inhibiting scar tissue is to incorporate nanoarchitecture on the surface of the implanted materials to modify the astrocytic response. The incorporated nanoarchitecture changes both the surface characteristics and the material properties of the implant interface. We investigated the response of rat cortical astrocytes to nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) surfaces. Astrocytes were seeded onto nonporous aluminum …