Engineering Commons^™

Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (Bret) - Based Nanostructured Biosensor For Detection Of Glucose, Eugene Hwang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) is a distance dependent, non-radiative energy transfer, which uses a bioluminescent protein to excite an acceptor through resonance energy transfer. In this thesis, BRET technology is incorporated into a sensor comprised of a recombinant protein and quantum dots. The recombinant protein, which includes the bioluminescent protein, Renilla luciferase (Rluc), is used as the donor molecule and cadmium tellurium quantum dots as the acceptor molecules. Separating the donor-acceptor pair is a recombinant protein, glucose binding protein, which changes conformation upon binding glucose and brings the pair closer together, thus allowing BRET to occur. Optimization of the …

Synthesis Of Vo2/Poly(Mma-Co-Dmemuabr) Antimicrobial/Thermochromic Dual-Functional Coating And Reactivity Ratios Study, Yixian Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Antimicrobial/thermochromic dual-functional coatings were successfully synthesized via UV-curing. The quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) N,N-dimethyl-N-{2-[(2-methylprop-2-enoyl)oxy]ethyl}undecane-1-aminium bromide (dMEMUABr) was synthesized and copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) for antimicrobial properties. Vanadium oxide (VO₂) nanoparticles were evenly dispersed within the coating, providing thermochromic properties. The dual-functional coating showed high luminous transmittance (T_lum(25°C) =36.1 %) and solar energy modulation ( T_sol=5.8 %). 90.3 % of bacteria reduction was observed against Escherichia coli within 24 h contact. To further understand the sequence distribution of the copolymer poly(MMA-co-dMEMUABr), the reactivity ratios of MMA and dMEMUABr monomer were studied and compared under thermal …

Rotating Heater Pyrolyzer (Rhp): A New Pyrolysis Technology For Biochar Production, Ariel Porat

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Biochar provides an effective and inexpensive carbon sequestration technology to combat climate change. It is formed through a process known as pyrolysis; where biomass is thermally decomposed in the absence of oxygen. In this study, a new pyrolysis reactor called the Rotating Heater Pyrolyzer (RHP) was designed and built for biochar production. RHP derived biochar properties were compared to biochars produced with a standard batch pyrolysis reactor (Pyrolytic Shaker Reactor (PSR)) to determine RHP performance. Using several biochar characterization techniques, the soil amendment potential of two solid anaerobic digestate feedstocks were investigated. Woodchip RHP derived biochar processed between 2-3 hrs …

Hydrodynamics Of Liquid-Solid And Three-Phase Inverse Circulating Fluidized Beds, Tian Nan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The hydrodynamics of inverse liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed (ILSCFB) is experimentally studied in a 5.4 m tall and 0.076 m ID column. 5 types of low density particles are investigated with different particle terminal velocities.

Solids holdup distribution is found to be uniform in a wide range of superficial liquid velocities and over 10 solid circulation rates. Average solids hold is not sensitive to particle properties. Clustering phenomenon is found to be significant affecting the slip velocity in the ILSCFB. And the cluster phenomenon is directly related to particle R_­eynolds number (R_et). Particles with little …

Bioremediation Of Refinery Desalter Effluent Using Debaryomyces Hansenii And Parachlorella Kessleri, Leila Azimian

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Crude oil desalting operations produce an effluent stream which is challenging to treat due to its salt, heavy metal and hydrocarbon content. Consequently, desalter effluent (DE) is usually diluted into other effluent streams and sent to conventional wastewater treatment plants which may lead to upsets the plant operation.

In this study, a novel microbial approach was applied which investigated DE treatment using halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii (LAF-3 10 U) or the environmentally robust micro-algae Parachlorella kessleri strain CPCC 266. The effect of these two different approaches on both synthetic and actual DE was investigated in both batch and/or continuous mode. …

Progress Toward Durable Icephobic Materials, Matthew J. Coady

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Ice accumulation is a major engineering challenge in many fields including aerospace, power generation, transportation, and infrastructure. A variety of solutions are being researched to address this challenge. Perhaps the most promising method of combating ice accumulation is by applying coatings with low values of interfacial ice adhesion strength, τ_ice. Icephobic materials are those with ice adhesion below 100 kPa, and it has been shown that passive delamination can occur on surfaces with τ_ice below 20 kPa. While various low adhesion surfaces have been prepared, durability concerns pervade applications where surfaces experience repeated icing or freeze-thaw cycles, …

Novel Green Micro-Synthesis Of Graphene-Titanium Dioxide Nano- Composites With Photo-Electrochemical Properties, Nourwanda M. Serour, Ahmed S.E. Hammad, Ahmed H. El-Shazly, Dina A. El-Gayar, Shaaban A. Nosier

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Publications

Background: Graphene-Titanium dioxide nano-composite forms a very promising material in the field of photo-electrochemical research.

Methods: In this study, a novel environment-friendly synthesis method was developed to produce well-distributed anatase nano-titanium dioxide spherical particles on the surface of graphene sheets. This novel method has great advantages over previously developed methods of producing graphenetitanium dioxide nanocomposites (GTNCs). High calcination temperature 650°C was used in the preparation of nano titanium dioxide, and chemical exfoliation for graphene synthesis and GTNC was performed by our novel method of depositing titanium dioxide nanoparticles on graphene sheets using a Y-shaped micro-reactor under a controlled pumping rate …

Understanding The Interplay Between Fluid Mechanics And Particle Size Distributions For Filtration Of Flocculated Mixtures, Brooke Remler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The breakdown of nutrients in biological processes in wastewater treatment require a sub- stantial amount of energy, contributing to greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Floc- culation can be used to reduce the loading on a biological process by increasing removals during primary treatment in devices such as a rotating belt filter (RBF). The relationship between shear conditions, defined by velocity gradients (G-values) and floc size is crucial. Understanding G-value magnitudes and distributions within an RBF, corresponding trans- port network, and the effects on floc size degradation are needed to maximize removals. G-values were calculated using a newly developed approach, improving …

A Comprehensive Study Of Sequential Simulated Moving Bed: Purification Of Xylo-Oligosaccharides And Fructose-Glucose, Yan Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Chromatographic separation is a promising alternative for separation and purification of sugars in industry. Simulated moving bed (SMB) technique has been proven as an efficient chromatographic separation method due to its enhanced productivity and purity, reduced solvent consumption, convenient operating control, and improved separation performance for some systems with low resolution and selectivity. The sequential simulated moving bed (SSMB) is a modification of the conventional SMB process, which currently has some applications for sugar separation due to its low solvent consumption. This work mainly investigates the design strategy of the innovative SSMB process and explore its advantages and disadvantages over …

Development Of A Co-Rotating, Fully Intermeshing Twin-Screw Extruder Model For The Extrusion Of Natural Fibre Suspensions, Keller J H George

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Twin-screw extruders are continuous processing devices that have been used in many industries concerned with the processing of multiphase fibrous suspensions, such as the food and pulping industries. While these devices offer great flexibility due to their modularity and customizability, optimization for specific applications can be challenging due to the unavailability of reliable, global models with accurate predictive capabilities. Consequently, this work seeks to eliminate this knowledge gap with the development of a novel global, composite model capable of predicting key process outputs for suspension-processing, phase-separating, co-rotating, fully-intermeshing twin-screw extruders. Creation of the novel global algorithm involved the modification of …

Evaluation Of Biohydrogen Production From Co-Fermentation Of Carbohydrates And Proteins, Emmanuel Andrew Tepari Jr,

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The aim of this study was to examine volatile fatty acid (VFA) production from a proteinaceous substrate, bovine serum albumin (BSA) for a pH range of 5 – 9, and to further assess its impact on hydrogen production in a co-fermentation process using starch and BSA at different ratios. The established optimum conditions for VFA production from BSA were an initial pH of 8, incubation time of 3 days and an operating temperature of 37 ℃. Using these fermentation conditions, the stoichiometric reactions that describe the anaerobic degradation of BSA were investigated. A methodology that describes organic acid production from …

Numerical Studies On Hydrodynamics In Various Circulating Fluidization Systems, Zeneng Sun

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Various circulating fluidized bed (CFB) systems including gas-solid fluidization, liquid-solid fluidization, and gas-liquid-solid three-phase fluidization are numerically studied. With a comprehensive knowledge from the experiments, improved computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models are developed for detailed investigations on a wide operating range in the gas-solid CFB (GSCFB) system. The CFD model developed is also extended to study two new types of fluidized beds, an inverse liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed (ILSCFB) and a bubble induced fluidized bed (BIFB), as a supplement to the experimental work.

Flow structures and transitions from low-density operations to high-density operations in both GSCFB riser and downer are …

Pyrolysis Of Miscanthus And Products Characterization, Arshdeep Singh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Miscanthus, an invasive crop, has recently gained attention as an emerging energy crop because of certain features such as adaptability to lower temperature, efficient use of water and nutrients, low or no need of nitrogen fertilizers, high biomass yield, fast growing cycle and less intensive agricultural cultivation practices than other energy crops, such as corn.

The literature review is focused on the value-added applications and conversion of Miscanthus for bioenergy and biomaterial applications. The thermochemical conversion technologies reviewed in this chapter include pyrolysis, liquefaction, torrefaction and gasification, whereas biochemical conversion technologies include enzymatic saccharification and fermentation.

In this work, …

In-Line Monitoring Of Lubricant Addition Through Passive Vibration Measurements In A V-Blender, Austin Cameron

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Process analytical technologies can improve product monitoring and process efficiency in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Passive vibration measurements were evaluated for their potential as a technique to monitor lubricant dispersal in a V-blender. An accelerometer was attached to the lid of a V-blender shell to measure vibrations from particle collisions. Lubricants formed a layer around the surface of particles, altering energy dissipation upon impact. With mixing, vibrational amplitudes approached a stable value indicating a mixing end-point. Mixing profiles were sensitive to changes in particle type, particle size and distribution, and lubricant concentrations for ideal particles and pharmaceutical granules. Axial loading configurations provided …

Energy Reduction In Fluidized Bed Bioreactors For Municipal And Ammonia-Rich Wastewater Treatment, Haolong Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The combination of biological nutrient removal (BNR) with fluidization technology has demonstrated advantages over suspended growth systems. Previous studies about fluidized bed bioreactor (FBBR) mainly focused on the BNR performance, rarely paid attention to the operation and energy consumption, while high energy consumption is the main hurdle for the industrial application of FBBR systems.

In this work, the BNR performance of a novel inverse fluidized bed bioreactor (IFBBR) treating synthetic wastewater was studied. TCOD removal efficiencies of ˃84% were achieved, concomitantly with complete nitrification. Compared with other FBBR systems, the energy consumption for this IFBBR system was an average 59% …

Hydrodynamics Studies Of Air Dense Medium Fluidized Bed With Binary Mixtures For Dry Coal Beneficiation, Zhijie Fu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A systematic and comprehensive study of fluidization hydrodynamics and separation properties was conducted in a bench-scale and a semi-industrial Air Dense Medium Fluidized Bed (ADMFB) systems for dry coal beneficiation. In order to achieve the adjustment of fluidized bed density for efficient dry gravity separation, various types of binary mixtures of solid particles were tested and used as the medium materials in ADMFB. Fluidization hydrodynamics including minimum fluidization velocity, fluidized bed expansion, solids mixing/segregation, and bed density distribution were carefully investigated. A series of continuous experiments of raw coal dry beneficiation were successfully implemented in a semi-industrial ADMFB system with …

Enhanced Carbon Fiber-Epoxy Composites For Rowing Racing Shells, Rayehe Samimi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the thermomechanical properties of two commercial composites using carbon fiber reinforcement in epoxy resins for manufacturing marine based rowing racing shells. The main goal of this project was to investigate how to control the resin properties and curing temperatures to improve the final product properties including adhesion, toughness modulus and tensile strength. Moreover, an efficient curing process was required by our supporting company to be used at low temperatures to enhance the curing characteristics and to provide improved mechanical properties. Accordingly, the current research tries to improve the manufacturing curing process and build up high performance structure …

Characterization Of Tetrazolium Salts And Formazans Using Computational Chemistry For Radiochromic Dosimetry, Teshome G. Bedada

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Computational chemistry is a powerful tool to model different materials and predict their physical and chemical properties. The goal of this thesis was to apply different computational chemistry tools to model the properties of two classes of closely related organic compounds: formazans and tetrazolium salts for ionizing radiation dosimetry in water-based gels, whereby the absorbed dose is registered by optical detection of formazan formation from tetrazolium salts. The structural parameters of phenyl and benzothiazolyl-substituted tetrazolium salts and formazans were computed using the APFD density functional theory (DFT) model and 6-311+G(2d,p) basis set. Conformational searching of stereoisomers (TSCA and TATA structures) …

A Ph-Sensitive Delivery System For The Prevention Of Dental Caries Using Salivary Proteins, Yi Zhu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Dental caries remains one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide. Salivary proteins such as histatins have demonstrated biological functions directly related to tooth homeostasis and prevention of dental caries. However, histatins are susceptible to the high proteolytic activities in the oral environment. Therefore, pH-sensitive chitosan nanoparticles (CNs) have been proposed as potential carriers to target major oral diseases that occur under acidic conditions (e.g. dental caries and dental erosion). Four different types of chitosan polymers were investigated and the optimized CNs successfully loaded histatin 3 and released it selectively under acidic conditions. Through loading the survival time of histatin …

Highly Efficient Depolymerization Of Kraft Lignin (Kl) And Hydrolysis Lignin (Hl) Via Hydrolysis And Oxidation, Zaid Ahmad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Due to dwindling fossil resources, climate change and other environmental concerns as well as the toxicity of certain products derived from petroleum resources, there is a growing interest in exploring and utilizing the abundant biomass resources as alternative feedstocks for the production of bio-based chemicals and materials. Biomass is composed of three main macromolecules, namely: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Even though most of the initial work relating to the valorization of biomass was focused on the carbohydrate components (cellulose and hemicellulose), in the last ten years, lignin, an aromatic biopolymer, has been receiving increasingly more attention. In particular, various routes …

Experimental Investigations On The Instantaneous Flow Structure In Circulating Fluidized Beds, Xiaoyang Wei

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Knowing the instantaneous flow structure is of great importance for the understanding of gas-particle interaction and for the prediction of reactor performances. In this thesis, a systematic and comprehensive study has been conducted on the instantaneous flow structure in a narrow rectangular riser (19 mm in thickness, 114 mm in width and 7.6 m in height), in a cylindrical riser (76 mm in diameter, 10.2 m in height) and in a cylindrical downer (50 mm in diameter, 4.9 m in height). A wider range of operating conditions has been achieved in risers and downer with superficial gas velocity from 3.0 …

Enhanced Oxidative Transformation Of Conventional And Emerging Organic Contaminants By Visible And Solar Light Driven Photocatalysis And Activated Ferrate(Vi), Malini Ghosh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nowadays, the release of different new contaminants, also known as emerging contaminants, in water and wastewater bodies are increasing with each passing day. Emerging contaminants primarily include pharmaceutical and personal care products and endocrine disruptors. Advanced oxidation processes are receiving an immense importance in the last few decades due to their abilities to degrade a vast range of organic and inorganic pollutants. This thesis explores the efficiency of different advanced oxidation processes in degrading emerging pollutants as well as conventional organic pollutants. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a well-studied advanced oxidation process, which involves the use of light energy to excite semiconducting …

Effect Of Coagulant Recycling On Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment Performance, Tulip Chakraborty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) process is a promising method for carbon redirection and improving the performance and efficiency of wastewater treatment processes. CEPT is employed to precipitate colloidal and suspended matter from wastewater; however, this requires a significant amount of coagulant and produces large volumes of sludge. Coagulant recovery (CR) from the precipitated sludge has the potential to reduce sludge quantities, associated costs for disposal of sludge, cost of dosing fresh coagulant by regenerating and purifying the coagulant before reuse. This research was conducted to understand the feasibility and implications of CR in municipal wastewater.

In order to evaluate …

Synthesis Of Chemically Stable Vo2 Particles Using Green Solvents And Their Application As Smart Coatings, Dicho Zomaya

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Heating and cooling buildings consumes a tremendous amount of energy worldwide, often >50% for Northern climates such as Canada. A major part of this energy is lost through windows. The use of thermochromic windows provides a new intriguing option, in which the window automatically regulates the amount of solar transmission in response to environmental temperature changes. Of the potential thermochromic materials, vanadium dioxide (VO₂) is known to display a fully reversible semiconductor-metal transition (SMT). VO₂ responds thermochromically to environmental temperature changes by changing its crystal structure as a function of temperature. VO₂ is transparent to infrared …

Microwave And Ultrasonic Assisted Synthesis Of Zeolites From Coal Fly Ash In Batch And Circulating Batch Operation, Tahani Hassn Aldahri

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research was focused on the production of zeolites from CFA throughutilizing ultrasound and microwave power. The initial conventional heating process of 6 h prior to microwave irradiation for samples with high solid-to-liquid (S/L) ratio (CFA mass/ NaOH solution volume) led to a higher yield of zeolite and decreased the synthesis time and consumption of energy,while keeping the high quality of the synthesized zeolite intact. The crystal growth of the nuclei generated over 6 h of conventional hydrothermal treatment was enhanced by the post-microwave heating. Ultrasound-assisted zeolitizationCFA was also applied in this research.

When ultrasound energy was applied after hydrothermal …

Non-Classical Nucleation Phenomena Study And Following Process Monitoring And Optimization In Solution Crystallization Process, Zhenguo Gao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nucleation is a crucial step in the solution crystallization process. Despite their good development, classical nucleation theory and two-step nucleation theory cannot explain all the nucleation phenomena, especially for the non-classical nucleation phenomena which include oiling out, gelation and non-monotonic nucleation. Accordingly, for the non-classical nucleation systems, the crystallization processes are seldom designed based on the nucleation monitoring and supervision. In this thesis, crystallization process optimization was conducted to study the mechanism of non-classical nucleation phenomena and in-line process monitoring technology development.

Two kinds of non-classical nucleation phenomena with non-monotonic nucleation rate and gel formation were investigated, and accordingly, two …

Investigation And Modeling Of The Dip Coating For Dispersions With Near Wall Effects, Mahdieh Moghadasi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The key to controlling the quality of liquid dispersion coated films lies in the particle distribution in the flow field. The control of particle dispersion in the film can also empower the optimization of the process operation. Therefore, a numerical simulation of a solid-liquid suspension in the dip coating (free withdrawal) process using the finite element method for the fluid flow has been developed. The neutrally buoyant suspension is considered as a Newtonian fluid with a concentration-dependent viscosity. A continuum constitutive equation is employed based on the diffusive flux model in twodimensional flow. The main purpose of this study is …

The Effect Of Scale On Spray Nozzle Performance, Aaron M. Joness

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the petroleum industry, Fluid Coker^TM are used to upgrade the heaviest remains of heavy oil into useful lighter products such as fuel oil or petrochemical feed. The development of a better injection into a Fluid Coker^TM is a key parameter to obtain a more efficient and sustainable use of heavy crude oil. The main detrimental factor in Fluid Coking^TM is the formation of agglomerates between the injected oil and the coke particles. These agglomerates not only trap injected oil, not allowing free reaction, but also cause harm to the Coker^TM when they fall to the …

Analysis And Control Of Aluminum Concentration In Groundwater: Mathematical Modelling And Laboratory Study, Daria Popugaeva

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The remediation of metal-contaminated natural water bodies is prioritized due to metals toxicity, non-biodegradable properties, and accumulative behaviours leading to the increased incidence of adverse health effects. Current investigation is driven by the existing problem of elevated aluminum concentrations in the groundwater of Khibiny alkaline massif (Kola Peninsula). The prohibitive aluminum level exceeding the accepted standard of 0.20 mg L⁻¹ is described as a serious health concern when the groundwater used for the local water supply. The results of comprehensive field data analysis based on chemometric methods applied to the available monitoring data including 12 groundwater quality parameters are …