Engineering Commons^™

New Insights Of Low Salinity Water Flooding In Low Permeability-Low Porosity Clay Rich Sandstone Reservoir, Ali K. Alhuraishawy, Baojun Bai, Mingzhen Wei, Waleed H. Al-Bazzaz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the EOR technologies is low-salinity water flooding (LSWF) is an EOR method that operates at a lower cost than other EOR methods, which makes it a preferred area of interest for oil industry economists, who continue to call for EOR costs to come down. The aim is to minimize the possible cost to recover as much oil as possible. The performance of low salinity waterflooding in decreasing residual oil saturation in low permeability-porosity clay-rich sandstone reservoir. Porosity test, core flooding test, XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were achieved in this study. Salinity effect on the porosity, …

Application Of Integrated Reservoir Geomechanics For Well Planning Of High-Angled Wells In A Mature Oil Field, Ahmed K. Abbas, Ralph E. Flori, Yousif M.B. Al-Asadi, Mortadha Alsaba, Nasser A. Al-Hamad

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Zubair oil reservoir has a significant potential to contribute to the petroleum supply in Iraq. Drilling highly deviated wells is a commonly used approach to enhance the production in mature fields. Drilling these wells in the Zubair Formation has been a challenge due to severe wellbore instability issues. This study presents how integrated reservoir geomechanics was used for efficient well planning and safe drilling of nearly horizontal wells (75° Inclination) through Zubair depleted sandstone oil reservoir. In this study, an integrated workflow was implemented mainly to build a geomechanical model using offset well data. The in-situ principal stresses and their …

Learning From Experience: An Automatic Ph Neutralization System Using Hybrid Fuzzy System And Neural Network, Ethar H.K. Alkamil, Seaar Al-Dabooni, Ahmed K. Abbas, Ralph Flori, Donald C. Wunsch

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In oil and gas industry, the pH level is one of the most important indicators of mud contamination while drilling. Although the process has simple components, the pH neutralization process is complicated in the mud circulation system. This difficulty is due to the high nonlinearity of the process. In this paper, the fuzzy neural network (FNN) is integrated to the fuzzy logic controller (FLC) to create a system which identifies pH fluctuation into a drilling mud system, assesses and signals its severity. And then, it automatically actuates a chemical treating fluids valve (CTFV), such as Caustic Soda (CS), for neutralizing …

Using Managed Pressure Drilling To Reduce Stuck Pipe Problem, Ethar H.K. Alkamil, Husam R. Abbood, Ralph E. Flori, George Medley, Sagar Nauduri, Mortadha Alsaba

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Differences between mud pressure in a wellbore and pore pressure in high permeability rocks can lead to differential sticking, particularly when drilling deviated wells and encountering mud losses. Several solutions, all challenging, can be used to address this problem, where the conventional mitigation method of managing the mud weight (MW) is often used. However, managed pressure drilling (MPD) offers a promising solution with a positive risk-adjusted cost and other benefits. Wells in the E oilfield in southern Iraq are typically drilled overbalanced and therefore often experience a high percentage of non-productive time (NPT) due to differential sticking. This study evaluates …

A Novel Ultra-Low Interfacial Tension Nanofluid For Enhanced Oil Recovery In Super-Low Permeability Reservoirs, Derong Xu, Baojun Bai, Ziyu Meng, Qiong Zhou, Zhe Li, Yao Lu, Hairong Wu, Jirui Hou, Wanli Kang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The exploration and development of super-low permeability reservoirs have become a global focus in recent years. However, conventional flooding systems commonly face problems of high injection pressure and poor displacement efficiency in super-low permeability reservoirs. Thus, it is imperative to find new flooding agents that tackle such problems. In this study, a novel ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) nanofluid was formulated, consisting of surfactants to achieve ultra-low IFT and silica nanoparticles to reduce injection pressure. The compatibility test between the surfactants and silica nanoparticles in 10,000 mg/L NaCl solution at 90 °C was conducted to ensure their adaption to harsh reservoir …

A Preliminary Evaluation Of The Ability Of Keratotic Tissue To Act As A Prognostic Indicator Of Hip Fracture Risk, J. Renwick Beattie, Diane Feskanich, M. Clare Caraher, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Studies have shown that Raman spectroscopic analysis of fingernail clippings can help differentiate between post-menopausal women who have and who have not suffered a fracture. However, all studies to date have been retrospective in nature, comparing the proteins in nails sourced from women, post-fracture. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of a prospective test for hip fracture based on spectroscopic analysis of nail tissue. Archived toenail samples from post-menopausal women aged 50 to 63 years in the Nurses' Health Study were obtained and analysed by Raman spectroscopy. Nails were matched case-controls sourced from 161 women; 82 …

The Impact Of Gallium Content On Degradation, Bioactivity, And Antibacterial Potency Of Zinc Borate Bioactive Glass, Alireza Rahimnejad Yazdi, Lawrence Torkan, Wendy Stone, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Zinc borate glasses with increasing gallium content (0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 Wt % Ga) were synthesized and their degradation, bioactivity in simulated body fluid (SBF), and antibacterial properties were investigated. ICP measurements showed that increased gallium content in the glass resulted in increased gallium ion release and decreased release of other ions. Degradability declined with the addition of gallium, indicating the formation of more symmetric BO₃ units with three bridging oxygens and asymmetric BO₃ units with two bridging oxygens in the glass network as the gallium content in the series increased. The formation of amorphous Ca-P …

Using Agricultural Wastes To Treat Lead-Contaminated Water In Western Australia, Hanie Hashtroudi

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Aqueous solutions are becoming increasingly contaminated in all parts of the world (2015). Heavy metals are toxic contaminants that are mainly distributed in urban stormwater run-off and industrial wastewaters as a result of some mining operations, electronic assembly planting, battery manufacturing, and etching operations (Kadirvelu et al. 2001). Pb (II) is a heavy metal that causes significant damage in the human body. Drinking lead-contaminated water even at low concentrations may cause lifethreatening conditions such as cancer, kidney damage, brain damage, and liver problems (El-Said 2010). Therefore, it is necessary to remove lead from aqueous solutions.

Several conventional physical, chemical, and …

Ultrafast Consolidation Of Bulk Nanocrystalline Titanium Alloy Through Ultrasonic Vibration, Peng Chen, W. B. Liao, Lehua Liu, F Luo, Xiaoyu Wu, Peijie Li, C Yang, M Yan, Y. J. Liu, Laichang Zhang, Zhiyuan Liu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Nanocrystalline (NC) materials have fascinating physical and chemical properties, thereby they exhibit great prospects in academic and industrial fields. Highly efficient approaches for fabricating bulk NC materials have been pursued extensively over past decades. However, the instability of nanograin, which is sensitive to processing parameters (such as temperature and time), is always a challenging issue to be solved and remains to date. Herein, we report an ultrafast nanostructuring strategy, namely ultrasonic vibration consolidation (UVC). The strategy utilizes internal friction heat, generated from mutually rubbing between Ti-based metallic glass powders, to heat the glassy alloy rapidly through its supercooled liquid regime, …

Spectrally-Selective Energy-Harvesting Solar Windows For Public Infrastructure Applications, Mikhail Vasiliev, Kamal Alameh, Mohammad Alam

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

A study of photovoltaic solar window technologies is reported and it focuses on their structural features, functional materials, system development, and suitability for use in practical field applications including public infrastructures and agricultural installations. Energy generation performance characteristics are summarized and compared to theory-limit predictions. Working examples of pilot-trial solar window-based installations are described. We also report on achieving electric power outputs of about 25 Wp/m2 from clear and transparent large-area glass-based solar windows.

Computational And Experimental Determination Of The Mixing Efficiency Of A Microfluidic Serpentine Micromixer, Siril Arockiam

Theses

In microfluidics, efficiency and mixing time are the greatest disadvantages. These parameters hinder the application of microfluidic devices for biochemical and immunological assays. However, once these disadvantages have been overcome by optimizing the parameters of the microfluidic device, it becomes the important analytical tool. In this experiment, various designs of microfluidic devices have been both simulated using COMSOL software, and experimentally verified to obtain the optimized parameter such as depth and velocity for better mixing efficiency. The COMSOL model has been validated by comparing the results with fluorescent images data of the experiment. The microfluidic device is built with Adhesive …

Removal Of Organic Material In Free Water Surface Gravel Bed Filters, Aloyce Mayo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The removal of organic material in free surface gravel bed filters was investigated and modelled. Two pilot wetland units of 7.5m x 1.5m x 0.7m were constructed adjacent to the University of Dar es Salaam waste stabilization ponds to receive maximum organic and hydraulic loading rates of less than 185 kg/ha/d and 110 l/m2/d, respectively. These units received wastewater of domestic characteristics from primary stabilization pond. The entire depth of 0.7 m of the wetland units were packed with gravel of size 8 ~ 25 mm and porosity of 35%. Samples were collected from the influent and effluent of wetland …

Comparative Analysis Of The Dissolution Performance Of Aspirin Tablets In The Usp Apparatus 2 And In A Minivessel Dissolution System, Annmarie C. Walker

Theses

Dissolution testing is a critical component of quality control procedures in the pharmaceutical industry in order to ensure that the final solid dosage forms have consistent dissolution properties. Dissolution tests are also routinely conducted to evaluate the in-vitro performance of solid dosage forms during pharmaceutical development, to aid in the behavior of formulations, and to optimize drug release from dosage forms.

The use of compendial dissolution test apparatus and techniques, such as the USP 2 (Paddle), to characterize the dissolution performance of oral drug delivery system is an established area of pharmaceutical science. However, this method is not always appropriate, …

Electroactivities Of Pd/Fe3O4-C Catalysts For Electro-Oxidation Of Methanol, Ethanol And Propanol, Tao Zou, Qing-Feng Yi, Yuan-Yuan Zhang, Xiao-Ping Liu, Guo-Rong Xu, Hui-Dong Nie, Xiu-Lin Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

Development of palladium (Pd) catalysts with high electroactivity for alcohol oxidation is significant for alcohol fuel cells. In this work, Pd nanoparticles were formed by sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) reduction method and subsequently deposited on the surface of carbon supported ferriferrous oxide (Fe₃O₄/C) composites to obtain the Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts with different Fe₃O₄ loadings. Their transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images show that the Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the Fe₃O₄/C. Electroactivities of the prepared Pd/Fe₃O₄-C catalysts toward oxidations of C1-C3 …

Kinetics And Mechanism Toward Electrochemical Reductions Of Sodium Bromide And Methanol Over Iron Electrodes, Qun Liao, Shu-Feng Zhang, Wen-Hua Leng

Journal of Electrochemistry

It is of technological value and scientific interest to the electro-synthesis of ferrocene, conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and organic electro-synthesis in non-aqueous solutions by investigating the kinetics and mechanism toward electrochemical reductions of sodium bromide (NaBr) and methanol over iron electrodes. However, few reports in the related researches are available. In this article, the kinetics and mechanism toward electrochemical reductions of NaBr and methanol over iron electrodes were examined in detail by carrying out the polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic measurements. The results showed that methanol was the reactant, while Na⁺ ions were functioned only …

Cobalt-Based Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Non-Noble Metal Catalysts For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Meng-Xiu Jiang, Jing Zhang, Yue-Hua Li, Rong Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Transition metal-nitrogen co-doped carbon catalysts have attracted significant attention because of their reasonable activity and remarkable selectivity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as cathodic reaction in fuel cells. However, the role of transition metal in the active sites of the catalysts still is uncertain. In this work, the Co_x-N_y/C-T catalysts were prepared with BP2000 as a carbon source, urea (Ur) as a nitrogen source and Co(OAc)₂•4H₂O as a metal precursor by a simple chemical method. Meanwhile, in order to optimize the ORR activity, the catalysts were synthesized with different amounts of Co …

Core-Shell Pd@Pt Ultrathin Nanowires As Durable Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts, Xin Wang, Yun-Jie Xiong, Liang-Liang Zou, Qing-Hong Huang, Zhi-Qing Zou, Hui Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

This paper describes a simple CO-assisted reduction approach for the controllable synthesis of ultrathin Pd nanowires along the one-dimensional (1D) direction. Ultrathin Pt films from one to several atomic layers were successfully decorated onto ultrathin Pd nanowires by utilizing Cu UPD deposition, and followed by in-situ redox replacement reaction of UPD Cu by Pt. The core–shell structure and composition of the Pd@Pt ultrathin nanowires have been verified using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The core–shell Pd@Pt ultrathin nanowires exhibited comparative electrocatalytic activity and improved durability for the oxygen reduction reaction in comparison with commercial Pt black. The …

Effect Of Fe2+/Fe3+Interconvertion On Reduction Behavior Of Fe3+ In Acidic Electrolytes, Jian-Xin Qin, Feng Lin, Wen-Ping Liu, Chao Chen, Meng-De Ren

Journal of Electrochemistry

The influences of ferrous/ferric (Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺) interconvertion on electrochemical reduction and electrode reaction of Fe³⁺ were investigated by using linear sweep voltammetry, potentiostatic method and cyclic voltammetry (CV) in acidic electrolytes containing chloride ion (Cl^-) and sulfate ion (SO₄^2-). It was shown that the reduction process of Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺ would take place in two independent stages: (1) the reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ at E=0.35V and (2) the co-precipitation of Fe²⁺ by forming Fe(OH)₂ (E≤-0.3 V) instead of Fe. The major effect of Fe^{2+ …}

An Application Of M-Matrices To Preserve Bounded Positive Solutions To The Evolution Equations Of Biofilm Models, Richard S. Landry Jr.

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this work, we design a linear, two step implicit finite difference method to approximate the solutions of a biological system that describes the interaction between a microbial colony and a surrounding substrate. Three separate models are analyzed, all of which can be described as systems of partial differential equations (PDE)s with nonlinear diffusion and reaction, where the biological colony grows and decays based on the substrate bioavailability. The systems under investigation are all complex models describing the dynamics of biological films. In view of the difficulties to calculate analytical solutions of the models, we design here a numerical technique …

The Role Of Catalytic Residue PKA On The Hydrolysis/Transglycosylation Partition In Family 3 Β-Glucosidases, Inacrist Geronimo, Christina M. Payne, Mats Sandgren

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

β-Glucosidases (βgls) primarily catalyze the hydrolysis of the terminal glycosidic bond at the non-reducing end of β-glucosides, although glycosidic bond synthesis (called transglycosylation) can also occur in the presence of another acceptor. In the final reaction step, the glucose product or another substrate competes with water for transfer to the glycosyl-enzyme intermediate. The factors governing the balance between the two pathways are not fully known; however, the involvement of ionizable residues in binding and catalysis suggests that their pK_a may play a role. Through constant pH molecular dynamics simulations of a glycoside hydrolase Family 3 (GH3) βgl, we …

Abiotic- And Biotic-Formation Of Manganese Oxides And Their Fate In Environmental Systems, Haesung Jung

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Manganese (hydr)oxide (Mn (hydr)oxide) minerals are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments. These minerals have high surface areas and are highly sorptive and redox active. From decades of accumulated knowledge about natural redox cycling, we have found that Mn (hydr)oxides play critical roles as electron donors and acceptors in elemental geochemical cycling and biological metabolisms in nature. Thus, Mn (hydr)oxides have garnered increasing interest to understand natural systems. Considering the variety of redox reactions with Mn (hydr)oxides in nature, it is also expected that there should be diverse pathways to form Mn (hydr)oxides through abiotic and biotic processes. Previous studies …

Multi-Scale Studies To Develop A Holistic Understanding Of Solid Fuel Combustion At Residential Scale, Sameer Patel

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Nearly 3 billion people rely on solid fuels for their cooking and heating needs, classifying them as “energy poor”. This poverty can be attributed to several factors, including a lack of resources (fuel), inefficient infrastructure (production and distribution), limited purchasing power (poverty), and ill-devised policies. Solid fuels, such as biomass, coal, and dung cakes, are burned in inefficient cookstoves. They generate products of incomplete combustion (PIC), such as CO, particulate matter (PM), and CH4, causing household air pollution (HAP) whose adverse impacts on both health and the environment have been well established.

HAP causes diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary …

Two-Component Hydrogel As Biomimetic Vitreous Substitutes, Sruthi Santhanam

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The vitreous humor of the eye is a biological hydrogel principally composed of fibrillary collagen interspersed with semi-flexible polyelectrolyte, hyaluronic acid (HA). Certain pathological conditions necessitate its removal and replacement. Current vitreous substitutes, such as silicone oils and perfluorocarbons, are hydrophobic, do not resemble the properties of the vitreous, and have known complications. An ideal vitreous substitute should have properties of the natural vitreous, perform its functions, and be biocompatible in the eye. Inspired by the structure and composition of the natural vitreous, we used bio-mimicry to develop an injectable two-component hydrogel. The hydrogel is composed of a fibrillary gellan, …

Layer-By-Layer Assembled Membranes With Immobilized Porins, Sebastián Hernández, Cassandra Porter, Xinyi Zhang, Yinan Wei, Dibakar Bhattacharyya

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

New and advanced opportunities are arising for the synthesis and functionalization of membranes with selective separation, reactivity, and stimuli-responsive behavior. One such advancement is the integration of bio-based channels in membrane technologies. By a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolytes, outer membrane protein F trimers (OmpF) or “porins” from Escherichia coli with central pores ∼2 nm in diameter at their opening and ∼0.7 × 1.1 nm at their constricted region are immobilized within the pores of poly(vinylidene fluoride) microfiltration membranes, in contrast to traditional ruptured lipid bilayer or vesicle processes. These OmpF-membranes demonstrate selective rejection of non-charged organics over ionic solutes, …

Sexual Recombination And Increased Mutation Rate Expedite Evolution Of Escherichia Coli In Varied Fitness Landscapes, George Peabody, Hao Li, Katy Kao

Faculty Publications

Sexual recombination and mutation rate are theorized to play different roles in adaptive evolution depending on the fitness landscape; however, direct experimental support is limited. Here we examine how these factors affect the rate of adaptation utilizing a “genderless” strain of Escherichia coli capable of continuous in situ sexual recombination. The results show that the populations with increased mutation rate, and capable of sexual recombination, outperform all the other populations. We further characterize two sexual and two asexual populations with increased mutation rate and observe maintenance of beneficial mutations in the sexual populations through mutational sweeps. Furthermore, we experimentally identify …

Combined Noncyclic Scheduling And Advanced Control For Continuous Chemical Processes, Damon Petersen, Logan D. R. Beal, Derek Prestwich, Sean Warnick, John Hedengren

Faculty Publications

A novel formulation for combined scheduling and control of multi-product, continuous chemical processes is introduced in which nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) and noncyclic continuous-time scheduling are efficiently combined. A decomposition into nonlinear programming (NLP) dynamic optimization problems and mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems, without iterative alternation, allows for computationally light solution. An iterative method is introduced to determine the number of production slots for a noncyclic schedule during a prediction horizon. A filter method is introduced to reduce the number of MILP problems required. The formulation’s closed-loop performance with both process disturbances and updated market conditions is demonstrated through …

Multiphase Flow Modeling For Design And Optimization Of A Novel Down-Flow Bubble Column, Mutharasu Lalitha Chockalingam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The application of the Euler-Euler framework based Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models for simulating the two-phase gas-liquid bubbly flow in down-flow bubble columns is discussed in detail. Emphasis is given towards the modelling and design optimization of a novel down-flow bubble column. The design features of this novel down-flow bubble column and its advantages over a conventional Plunging Jet down-flow bubble column are discussed briefly. Then, some of the present challenges in simulating a conventional Plunging Jet down-flow bubble column in the Euler-Euler framework is highlighted, and a sigmoid function based drag modification function is implemented to overcome those challenges. …

Synergistic Interactions Of H2 And N2 With Molten Gallium In The Presence Of Plasma, Maria L. Carreon, Daniel F. Jaramillo-Cabanzo, Indira Chaudhuri, Madhu Menon, Mahendra K. Sunkara

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

The present study examines the interaction of hydrogen and nitrogen plasmas with gallium in an effort to gain insights into the mechanisms behind the synergetic effect of plasma and a catalytic metal. Absorption/desorption experiments were performed, accompanied by theoretical-computational calculations. Experiments were carried out in a plasma-enhanced, Ga-packed, batch reactor and entailed monitoring the change in pressure at different temperatures. The results indicated a rapid adsorption/dissolution of the gas into the molten metal when gallium was exposed to plasma, even at a low temperature of 100 °C. The experimental observations, when hydrogen was used, indicate that gallium acts as a …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Thermoresponsive Hydrogels Based On N-Isopropylacrylamide Crosslinked With 4,4′-Dihydroxybiphenyl Diacrylate, Shuo Tang, Martha Floy, Rohit Bhandari, Manjula Sunkara, Andrew J. Morris, Thomas D. Dziubla, J. Zach Hilt

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel crosslinker [4,4′-dihydroxybiphenyl diacrylate (44BDA)] was developed, and a series of temperature-responsive hydrogels were synthesized through free radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) with 44BDA. The temperature-responsive behavior of the resulting gels was characterized by swelling studies, and the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the hydrogels was characterized through differential scanning calorimetry. Increased content of 44BDA led to a decreased swelling ratio and shifted the LCST to lower temperatures. These novel hydrogels also displayed resiliency through multiple swelling–deswelling cycles, and their temperature responsiveness was reversible. The successful synthesis of NIPAAm-based hydrogels crosslinked with 44BDA has led to a …

Reducing Biomass Recalcitrance By Heterologous Expression Of A Bacterial Peroxidase In Tobacco (Nicotiana Benthamiana), Ayalew Ligaba-Osena, Bertrand Hankoua, Kay Dimarco, Robert Pace, Mark Crocker, Jesse Mcatee, Nivedita Nagachar, Ming Tien, Tom L. Richard

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

Commercial scale production of biofuels from lignocellulosic feed stocks has been hampered by the resistance of plant cell walls to enzymatic conversion, primarily owing to lignin. This study investigated whether DypB, the lignin-degrading peroxidase from Rodococcus jostii, depolymerizes lignin and reduces recalcitrance in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana). The protein was targeted to the cytosol or the ER using ER-targeting and retention signal peptides. For each construct, five independent transgenic lines were characterized phenotypically and genotypically. Our findings reveal that expression of DypB in the cytosol and ER does not affect plant development. ER-targeting increased protein accumulation, and …