Engineering Commons^™

Beeswax Wraps As An Alternative To Single-Use Plastics, Sarah Skiver

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project goal was to compare the food storage efficacy of sustainable beeswax wraps verses the single-use plastic methods of resealable plastic sandwich bags and plastic cling wrap. The goal was also to test the reusability of the beeswax wraps, as it is a key advantage of beeswax wraps that is advertised. The project purpose was to explore sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastics, which are harmful to the environment in both their production and their disposal. Food spoilage was compared in beeswax wrap, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic cling wrap, and spoilage was also observed in a …

Chemistry And Functionality Of Plant Waxes: Applications Toward Postharvest Coatings, Francisco Miguel Angel Leyva Gutierrez

Doctoral Dissertations

The cuticle of all higher-plants is covered in lipidic layers of amorphous and crystalline waxes. The chemical composition and structure of cuticular waxes impart numerous functional properties to the surfaces of plants. Moreover, plant waxes are valuable industrial products with myriad applications; the postharvest coating of agricultural commodities for preservation serves as a salient example. There is an unfulfilled need in the agricultural sector for alternative wax materials to reduce reliance on imported waxes of botanical origin. Plant waxes are inherently complex mixtures composed of n-alkanes, as well as aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes, fatty acids, ketones, esters, and derivatives thereof. …

Uio-Type Metal-Organic Framework Derivatives As Sorbents For The Detection Of Gas-Phase Explosives, Matthew Ryan Sherrill

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The detection of energetic compounds – better known to the public as explosives – has is an important cornerstone of counterterrorism and homeland security . While significant advances have been achieved for the detection of trace explosives in various matrices such as soil, wastewater, and clothing, the detection of explosives in the gas phase remains challenging due to their infamously low vapor pressures. In this thesis, we leverage the high sensitivity of direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) and the microporosity of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to adsorb and therefore concentrate explosives from the vapor phase and subsequently detect them …

Nmr Metabolomics For Optimizing Cell-Free Protein Synthesis, Angela M. Campo

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Cell-Free Protein Synthesis (CFPS) has been utilized by biochemists to produce a variety of chemicals and therapeutics. While CFPS has spawned research in the biochemistry and medical communities, there are still unknown issues with interlaboratory variability with the technique. This work explored the black box nature of CFPS reactions by analyzing the CFPS reactions in situ with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Aim 1 developed the protocol for conducting NMR experiments on E. coli cell-free reactions as well as a data analysis pipeline. This was accomplished with 1H NMR, capturing metabolite changes over time. The 1D NOESY experiment proved to …

Ab Initio Modeling Of An Electron Transport Layer Interface In Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells, Krantikumar Subhash Pawar

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cell is an emerging technology which has shown the fastest advancement in power conversion efficiency within a few years since introduction, thus making it one of the clean energy breakthroughs. These cells are based on thin-film technology which makes them suitable to manufacture using low-cost solution processing methods. As these types of cells are easily tunable with the selection of different materials, interfacial engineering is an important approach to increasing their efficiency. One of the main hurdles in this regard is the loss caused by the recombination of separated charges. An approach to tackle these issues …

Evaluation Of The Mechanisms And Effectiveness Of Nano-Hydroxides, Wood And Dairy Manure-Derived Biochars To Remove Fluoride And Heavy Metals From Water, Anna Rose Wallace, Wenjie Sun Dr, Chunming Su Dr

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

The development of effective treatment processes for the removal contaminants, such as fluoride and heavy metals, from polluted water have been urgently needed due to serious environmental health and safety concerns. In this dissertation, a variety of materials including various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, biochars and surface modified biochar were studied to evaluate their effectiveness and mechanism on removing fluoride or mixed heavy metals from water.

In the Chapter 2, this study investigated the adsorptive removal of fluoride from water using various (hydro)oxide nanomaterials, focusing on ferrihydrite, hydroxyapatite (HAP) and brucite, which have the potential to be used as sorbents for surface …

Synthesis And Adsorption Experiments With Metal-Organic Frameworks For High School And Undergraduate Laboratory Settings, Kate Holley

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Seven experiments are described and outlined here that introduce high school and undergraduate students to metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their applications. The experiments were designed to be completed with basic laboratory equipment and supplies and without the use of expensive characterization instruments, simulating typical high school chemistry laboratory conditions. Students synthesized two well-known MOFs, HKUST-1 and aluminum fumarate, using simple, safe, and rapid methods (fast enough to be performed within the time constrains of a typical high school class). Students then use their synthesized MOFs to explore their inherent sorption properties. In one set of experiments, the synthesized MOFs are …

From Flasks To Applications: Design And Optimization Of Giant Quantum Dots Using Traditional And Automated Synthetic Methods, Christina J. Hanson

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Semiconducting nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), that emit light with near-unity quantum yield and are extremely photostable are attractive options as down-conversion and direct electricity-to-light materials for a variety of applications including solid-state lighting, display technologies, bio-imaging and optical tracking. Standard QDs with a core/thin shell structure display fluorescence intermittency (blinking) and photobleaching when exposed to prolonged room temperature excitation for single dot measurements, as well as significant reabsorption and energy transfer when densely packed into polymers or at high solution concentrations.

We have developed thick shell “giant” QDs (gQDs), ultra-stable photon sources both at the ensemble and …

Morphology-Property Relationship For Binary Organic Thin Films, Alyssa Lynn Griffin

Master's Theses

Organic thin films can be readily mass-produced through solution-based fabrication methods including ink-printing and solution-casting because their light weight, flexibility, and inexpensive sources. Their applications range from organic field-effect transistors (OFET), organic solar cells (OSC), to organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Compared with pure component films, binary organic thin films (BOTF) allows for novel characteristics and specialized features to handle more demanding tasks. Due to the complex intermolecular interactions in BOTF, various microscopic phases with different morphological and electronic properties may be formed and this information is difficult to extract through conventional bulk measurements.

Organic thin films can be readily …

Solute Partitioning In Elastin-Like Polypeptides: A Foundation For Drug Delivery Applications, Eric Helm

ETD Archive

No abstract provided.

Click Chemistry Protein Immobilization, James P. Kraley

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The main purpose of the first part in the lab was to try and determine a way to measure the moles of dye per mole of protein in order to detect an azide tag on a recombinantly produced azide-IFN-γ protein. This was done by using click chemistry to bind the azide tagged protein to a dye and then measured the azide tag efficiency. The main purpose of the second part of the project was to make a protein, SDF-1α, and tag it with an azide group. This was completed via processes of expression, isolation, and purification of the protein. From …

Material Characterization Of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete At Elevated Temperatures, Richard T. Way

Master's Theses

With the recent development of Ultra High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC), there has been limited investigation into the mechanical and material properties of this composite at elevated temperatures. At elevated temperatures concrete is shown to undergo several material changes which affect the residual mechanical properties. Additionally, fast heating rates are known to cause a phenomenon called explosive spalling. This research investigates the effect of high temperature on the residual mechanical properties and chemical degradation of two types of UHPFRC. This was accomplished by casting and testing two different UHPFRC mixes and exposing them to elevated temperatures at two rates …

The Chemical Effect Of Ultrasound On Cyanide Solutions, Nabil R. Zaki

Theses

An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the chemical effects of high intensity ultrasonic radiation on cyanide solutions. The effects of aeration, concentration of cyanide and temperatures on the reaction rate are investigated. The experiment was preformed in a 30 mm pyrex tube immersed at a fixed height in a constant volume water bath. Ultrasonic energy was applied through the use of a transducer epoxied at the bottom of the water bath. The power inputs to the transducer were 40W (27KHz) and 100W (21KHz).

At a power of 40W, ultrasound had no chemical effect on cyanide solutions. At 100W, hydrogen …

A Study Of The Effect Of Oxygen On The Rate Of Dissolution Of Gold In Cyanide Solutions., John A. Cook

Bachelors Theses and Reports, 1928 - 1970

The accepted chemical reactions in the dissolution of gold by cyanide solutions require the presence of gold, cyanide, water, and oxygen. The importance of dissolved oxygen in cyanide solutions as a factor is recognized by those familiar with cyanidation. Manufacturers of cyanidation equipment realize the necessity of oxygen, as shown by the appliances they have developed which are attached to the agitators in order to saturate the cyanide solutions with air.