Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Plasmonic Pervaporation Via Gold Nanoparticle-Functionalized Nanocomposite Membranes, Aaron Russell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Butanol derived from biological feedstocks has significant potential as a liquid fuel source, but the separation methods used in its production can be prohibitively expensive and are therefore currently the subject of extensive research. Pervaporation is a promising membrane process that is effective in butanol separations, but involves a large energy demand. This study examines the possibility of increasing flux and energy efficiency in pervaporation via plasmonic heating of gold nanoparticle-functionalized, polymer nanocomposite membranes (AuNCMs) in lieu of conventional feed heating. An economic analysis demonstrated that plasmonic pervaporation could achieve significant reductions in energy usage and utility cost in butanol …

Cloning And Characterization Of Sas0754, A Hypothetical Protein From Community Associated Staphylococcus Aureus, Unknown Unknown

Symposium 2012

Community associated Staphylococcus aureus (strain MSSA476) is a gram positive cocci capable of infecting many different parts of the body and known to cause serious infections that can be fatal, such as bacterial arthritis and acute endocarditis. To find effective ways of fighting against CA-MRSA strains we must learn more about their ability to infect. The focus of this study was cloning and characterization of a protein referred to as SAS0754. The size of SAS0754 is 340 amino acids and the gene sequence is 1023 nucleotides. The hypothetical function of this protein is that it is an extracellular matrix binding …

A Convenient Synthesis Of 2,6-Dichlorohomonicotinic Acid, Chase Buchanan, Richard W. Fitch

Symposium 2012

In our synthetic efforts toward the alkaloid phantasmidine, we required a convenient source of the title compound. Herein, we describe a short synthesis of 2,6-dichlorohomonicotinic acid by direct allylation of 2,6-dichloropyridine with LDA/allyl chloride, followed by permanganate oxidation of the side chain [figure1]. Yields for the allylation are high, while permanganate oxidation required more adjustment. Successful conditions require the modest acidification of the mixture with acetic acid and cleanup by acid base workup. No chromatography is needed.

Convenient Parallel Synthesis Of Alkyl- And Aryl-S-Tert-Butyl Thiothers, Rebecca Norcross, Jessica Stanfield, Richard W. Fitch

Symposium 2012

While preparing novel cysteine derivatives as oxidation catalysts, we needed S-tert-butylcysteine. We also examined acid-promoted tert-butylation of thiols using tert-butanol as reagent and solvent. While cysteine and aminoethanethiol work well using tBuOH in 4M HCl, other thiols fail in the aqueous environment and aerobic conditions. We examined a variety of aliphatic and aromatic thiols in tBuOH with H2SO4 catalysis and found that argon sparging and the use of 1 eq of acid led to good yields in a parallel format.

Degradation Of Polystyrene Foam Under Radiant Heat Flux, James Butler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for liquefied natural gas has increased, safety concerns about the performance of transport vessels under fire conditions have been raised. Current codes for the sizing of the pressure relief systems require that the vessels are able to withstand an emmissive heat flux of 108kW/m2 and do not take into account the effects of insulation loss due to thermal decomposition of the insulation materials. To address this possible oversight in the current code models were presented to a working group organized by the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators Ltd. focusing on the decomposition rate of …

Rayleigh Test Apparatus Design Report, Josef Duller, Owen Raybould, James Nicovich

Mechanical Engineering

The Rayleigh Test Apparatus is a device that will be used to test the thermodynamic properties of Nitrous Oxide to assess the feasibility of using this fluid as a coolant for a hybrid rocket aero spike. The aero spike is intended to redirect the propulsion flow as it leaves the engine to create a more efficient flow pattern at low and high altitudes. However, there are issues of overheating which leads to melting of the aero spike. For this reason, the use of nitrous oxide (N2O) as a coolant is being explored. N20 is being considered because it is already …

L'Oreal Waste Minimization, Caitlin Burns, Joe Baugh, Allen Busick, Ryan Black, Emily Evans, Matthew Margis

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this design project is to reduce the amount of waste being generated at L’Oreal’s North Little Rock manufacturing facility. To accomplish this, the design team visited the North Little Rock manufacturing facility to examine the areas producing the most waste. After gaining a detailed understanding of these areas, the UP1 production line was identified as one of the largest opportunities for waste reduction in the L’Oreal manufacturing facility. In the UP1 processing area, mascara is mixed in large mixing tanks and then pumped in to barrels to be packaged. The 2,000 liter and 1,000 liter Olsa tanks …

Simulation, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Hydrogels And Nanocomposite Gels., Kamleshkumar J. Suthar

Dissertations

Stimuli-responsive gels are three-dimensional, cross-linked polymeric materials that undergo large physical change in response to the environmental stimuli, like temperature, pH, electrical potential, and irradiation. Ferrogels are colloidaldispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in the hydrogel network. The magnetic nanoparticles are attached to the polymeric network by different adhesive forces; as a result, it becomes sensitive to the applied magnetic field.

The main objective of this research is the simulation, synthesis, and characterization of the hydrogel and ferrogel. Simulation of the hydrogel response was performed for various environmental stimuli using a multiphysics finite element analysis software, COMSOL. The pH and electrical response …

Kinetics Determination Of Soybean Oil Transesterification In The Design Of A Continuous Biodiesel Production Process, Irwin Jacob, Ed Clausen, Danielle Julie Carrier

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

One-step batch transesterification consisting of three stepwise reversible reactions of pure soybean oil with methanol was conducted at two different mixing speeds (600 and 300 rpm) to produce soybean oil fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel). In both batch reactions, sodium methoxide (1.09 wt% based on soybean oil) was used as the catalyst, the reaction temperature was 60oC, and the methanol-to-oil molar ratio was 6:1. The objectives were to determine and/or investigate: 1) the mechanism and order of the reaction, 2) the reaction rate constants, 3) the effect of changes in mixing intensity on the reaction rate, 4) the comparison of …

Emulsification And Dispersant Properties Of Sugar Ester Glycolipid In Water In Oil And Oil In Water Emulsion., Azrah Abdul Aziz

Student Works (2010-2019)

The influence of different dispersing agent on the rheological behaviors of paraffin oil-water emulsion with addition of TiO2 for uv-protect and moisturizing active ingredient was studied. While making creams with minimal structural defects and longer storage stability, it is important that preparation conditions be optimized. Settle volume properties, Zeta potential, effective diameter and settle volume of TiO2 suspension were studied in the presence of glycolipid (DDM and Carrageenan), nonionic (PEG 10,000 and Brij 35P) as well as anionic surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS). In the experiments, the higher concentration of dispersing agents shows higher settle volume percentage, higher zeta potential …

Effects Of Concentration And Temperature On The Coupled Heat And Mass Transport In Liquid Mixtures, Yaşar Demirel, Stanley I. Sandler

Papers in Thermal Mechanics

Using published experimental data on the thermal conductivity, mutual diffusivity, and heats of transport, the degree of coupling between heat and mass flows has been calculated for binary and ternary nonideal liquid mixtures. The binary mixtures consist of two types: the first is six systems of six-to-eight-carbon straight and branched chain alkanes in chloroform and in carbon tetrachloride; and the second is mixtures of carbon tetrachloride with benzene, toluene, 2-propanone, n-hexane, and 11-octane. The ternary mixture considered is toluene-chlorobenzene-bromobenzene. The published data are available at 35°C, 30°C, and 35°C and ambient pressure. Using the linear nonequilibi-ium thermodynainics (LNET) and the …

Effects Of External Electric Field On The Interfacial Properties Of Weakly Dipolar Fluid, V. B. Warshavsky, T. V. Bykov, Xiao Cheng Zeng

Xiao Cheng Zeng Publications

In the framework of modified mean-field density-functional theory, effects of a uniform electric field on the interfacial properties of a model dipolar fluid are studied. Both density and orientational order-parameter profiles of the planar vapor-liquid interface are obtained as a function of the field strength. For the dipolar fluids with reduced dipole moment μ₀^*0^*E*/T*!1) can shift the surface tension by few percent. We also find that the electric field actually reduces the thermodynamical surface tension but enhances the mechanical surface tension at the equimolar dividing surface. To detect these field effects on …

Droplet Evaporation And Deformations In An Amplitude Modulated Ultrasonic Field, Nihad E. Daidzic, Rene Stadler, Adrian Melling

Aviation Department Publications

The aim of the report presented is the measurements of droplet oscillations.

A New Spray Evaporation Model Based On Droplet Interface Phenomena, Nihad E. Daidzic, Gangolf Kohnen, Martin Sommerfeld

Aviation Department Publications

In this work the influence of droplet shape oscillations on droplet evaporation is shown. Through nonlinear mode interactions, turbulence and aerodynamic triggering of vibrations cause by vortex shedding, droplets always oscillates in spray flows. Droplet shape oscillation cause higher evaporation rates through several physical phenomena such as an average increase of the superficial surface area, periodic micro-convection and boundary layer destruction, and local saturation pressure changes due to local curvature effects. The inviscid theory of small-amplitude droplet oscillations was used which resulted in better agreement with the measurement data of droplet size distributions in sprays for different axial coordinates.

Electrostatic Positioning Of Droplets In Turbulent Flows (Lstm 375/Te/93), Nihad E. Daidzic, Adrian Melling

Aviation Department Publications

Report LSTM 375/TE/93, Lehrstuhl fuer Stroemungsmechanik Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg Cauerstr. 4, 8520 Erlangen Germany.

Heat And Momentum Transfer Analogies For The Transitional And Turbulent Flow Of A Non-Newtonian Power-Law Fluid In A Heated Pipe, Prapat Wangskarn, Bahman Ghorashi

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

A model is proposed for the transfer of heat to non-Newtonian power-law fluids flowing in heated horizontal pipes. Comparisons with the existing models, based on the absolute-percent-arithmetic-average-deviation and the percent-standard-deviation, show that under the transitional and turbulent flow regimes the proposed correlation fits the experimental data more accurately over a wide range of flow behavior index and there are no restrictions for its use when applied to pseudoplastic fluids.

A Numerical Solution For The Turbulent Flow Of Non-Newtonian Fluids In The Entrance Region Of A Heated Circular Tube, Prapat Wangskarn, Bahman Ghorashi, Rama Subba Reddy Gorla

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Numerical solutions of conservation equations are obtained for turbulent flow of non-Newtonian fluids in a circular tube. The forward marching procedure of Patankar and Spalding^1 was implemented in order to obtain the simultaneous development of the velocity and temperature fields by using the apparent viscosity of fluids. Prandtl's mixing length concept is used to determine the apparent turbulent shearing stress. Furthermore, local and average Nusselt numbers are obtained in the entrance region, as well as in the fully developed region. For the case of the fully developed region, values of the Nusselt numbers …

Asymptotic Boundary-Layer Solutions For Mixed Convection From A Vertical Surface In A Micropolar Fluid, Rama Subba Reddy Gorla, Paul P. Lin, An-Jen J. Yang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Using the theory of micropolar fluids due to Eringen, asymptotic boundary layer solutions are presented to study the combined convection from a vertical semi-infinite plate to a micropolar fluid. Consideration is given to the region close to the leading edge as well as the region far away from the leading edge. Numerical results are obtained for the velocity, angular velocity and temperature distribution. The missing wall values of the velocity, angular velocity and thermal functions are tabulated. Micropolar fluids display drag reduction and reduced surface heat transfer rate when compared to Newtonian fluids.

Mixed Convection In Vertical Internal Flow Of A Micropolar Fluid, Rama Subba Reddy Gorla, Bahman Ghorashi, Prapat Wangskarn

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

The theory of micropolar fluids due to Eringen is used to formulate a set of equations for the flow and heat transfer characteristics of the combined convection micropolar flow in vertical channels. It is found that the microstructure and substructure parameters have significant effects on the flow and thermal fields. By making the Newtonian solvent more and more micropolar, it is possible to obtain drag reduction as well as reduced heat transfer characteristics.