Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Measurement Of Peptoid Concentration Using Uv Spectroscopy, Katie Holland

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The goal of this research is to establish a relationship between ultraviolet adsorption and peptiod concentration to be used to determine the concentration of an unknown peptoid sample. This will allow for the measurement of concentration differences of peptoid samples before and after incubation with membrane surfaces. Samples were prepared nine know concentrations and diluted 50 fold. The UV absorbances of each sample was measured using a UV spectrophotometer at wavelengths from 200 to 450 nanometers. This process was repeated, and the maximum absorbance of each replicate was averaged to yield an absorbance value for each concentration of peptoid. …

Peptoid-Modified Bicelles As Surrogate Cell Membranes For Membrane Protein Sensors And Analytics, Helya Najafi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane-affiliated interactions are significant in understanding cell function, detecting biomarkers to diagnose disease, and in testing the efficiency of new therapeutic targets. Model membrane systems have been developed to study membrane proteins, allowing for stable protein structure and maintaining native activity. Bicelles, disc-shaped lipid bilayers created by combining long- and short-chain phospholipids, are the model membrane system of focus in this study. Bicelles are accessible from both sides and have a wide size range, which make them attractive for studying membrane proteins without affecting function. In this work, bicelles were functionalized with two peptoids to alter the edge and face …

Evaluating One-Step Catalytic Free Method Including Hydrolysis, Esterification, Transesterification, And Degradation Reactions To Produce Biodiesel From Soybean Oil, Mahmood Gheni Jebur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the environmental and economic impacts of diesel fuel based on petroleum, several studies have been done to find an alternative source of energy. Biodiesel is considered one of these alternative sources. It is a renewable source of energy produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. There are two main reaction routes used to produce biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters). Transesterification reaction is the first route used to convert triglycerides to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), while hydrolysis followed by esterification reactions are the second route employed to convert triglycerides to free fatty acids (FFA) and then further converted …

Membranes For Food And Bioproduct Processing, Alexandru Marius Avram

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Modified membranes for process intensification in biomass hydrolysis

Production of biofuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is one of the leading candidates for replacement of petroleum based fuels and chemicals. However, conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals is not cost effective compared to the production of fuels and chemicals from crude oil reserves. Some novel and economically feasible approaches involve the use of ionic liquids as solvents or co-solvents, since these show improved solvation capability of cellulose over simple aqueous systems. Membranes offer unique opportunities for process intensification which involves fractionation of the resulting biomass hydrolysate leading to …

Peptide-Directed Nanoparticle Synthesis With A Denovo Pd-Binding Sequence Fused To A Reporter Protein, Rita Eloisa Tejada Vaprio

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a need for low-cost nanoparticle materials in the context of new technologies for catalyst development. The purpose of this work was to recombinantly produce a 45- amino acid long metal binding peptide that is useful for nanoparticle synthesis. Using splicing by overlap extension PCR, a synthetic gene containing the fusion of the metal binding peptide with Green Fluorescent Protein (GFPUV) was constructed. The metal binding peptide, fused to reporter protein GFPUV, was expressed using high cell density fermentation. Palladium nanoparticles of an average diameter of 1.18 0.45 nm were synthesized by using the crude cell extract containing the …

Effects Of Filtration Conditions On Clearance Of Bacteriophage, Rigen Te

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Virus Clearance is one of the major challenges in biopharmaceutical industry, especially in the manufacturing of drugs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends using several model bacteriophages as surrogates of pathogenic mammalian virus for process validation. In this work, two bacteriophages were tested against 30 kDa, 100 kDa, 300 kDa polyethersulfone (PES) membranes to investigate the effects of pore size on virus clearance. Virus particles were spiked into the protein feed solutions containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) or lysozyme at different concentrations. Besides protein concentration, the effects of feed pH on the filtration performance and virus rejection were also …

Peptoid-Based Microsphere Coatings For Use As Tunable Biocompatible Interfaces, German Raul Perez Bakovic

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The pursuit of sensitive, non-invasive, and cost efficient diagnostic tools for early stage disease detection have led to the development of sophisticated biosensor technologies for proteomic studies. As these markers increase in complexity, the role of support substrates grows increasingly important. Limitations in existing support substrates include the potential for increased sensitivity, binding specificity, and bio-stability. Ideal support substrates need to provide biocompatible and bioresistant surfaces, that offer high surface areas for binding, and enables the incorporation of diverse chemistries. The use of peptoids as the basis for the deposition of uniform microsphere coatings offers a mean to the attainment …

Membrane Surface Engineering For Biochemical Applications, Anh T. Vu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic membranes have been frequently used for many fields, such as, the food and beverage, biopharmaceutical, and biofuel industries. In the beer industry, microfiltration frequently suffers from fouling due to the interaction between different species. It is shown that polyphenols can form cross-links with protein molecules, forming insoluble aggregates. However, by adding an optimal amount of polysaccharides these aggregates can be disrupted thus reducing fouling by the aggregates. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a powerful technique to locate the foulants inside the wet membrane in order to understand more about the behavior of fouling in microfiltration.

Membrane surface modification …

Removal Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds Using Membrane Bioreactor, Mohanad Ali Abdulsahib Kamaz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The presence of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhAC) such as pesticides, personal care products, antibiotics and pharmaceutical compounds, in sewage, industrial, and domestic waters has extensively become the major concern for health and environmental organizations. These compounds have the ability to interact with mammalian endocrine system and disrupting their functions. The traditional activated sludge processes are designed to degrade solids, organic carbon and nitrogen loading. Although several treatment steps in a wastewater treatment plant can contribute to partial removal of EDCs, effective removal has been a challenge due to their resistant chemical and biological degradation and …

Energy From Chemical Reactions: Understanding The Combustion Engine, Tammy Guthrie, Kathy Prophet, Greg Herzig, Cassie Kautzer

Middle School Lesson Plans

Automobiles produce a large amount of heat generated by the burning of gasoline. Burning gasoline is a chemical reaction that causes a phase change. This is called combustible energy. During combustion fuel combines with oxygen to release energy (such as heat, light, sound) along with another product that is often considered waste. Most of the energy produced is not used to power the automobile, but is released as heat. 19.3 pounds of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is produced from the combustion of 1 gallon of U.S. gasoline according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

An Industrial Process For The Production Of Nylon 6 6 Through The Step-Growth Reaction Of Adipic Acid And Hexamethylenediamine, David Wallace Jacobson

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A continuous, two stage, four reactor system process is presented here for the proposed purpose of nylon 6 6 manufacture at the rate of 85 million lbs per year. Report components include: process descriptions, simulation methods and results, economic analysis, EH&S considerations, process control descriptions, and a general recommendation for how to proceed with plans enclosed. The general design of the plant is a two stage system composed of one PFR used for the formation of nylon salt and low molecular weight nylon chains, followed by three CSTR’s used for increasing nylon molecular weight. The overall process has been found …

Tailings Dust Emissions, Emily Degner, Sam Horn, Zakary Galligan, Ryan Bernard, Julie Jameson, Josh Mueller, Natalie Tucker, Joe Griffin

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fugitive dust emissions from the storage and handling of mine tailings presents environmental and safety concerns, which must be addressed to promote the land sustainability and the health and safety of individuals around a tailings storage facility (TSF). The investigated dust control methods were agglomeration, binder slurry injection, and topical spray.

The Dust Busters determined that pelletizing was the most practical method of agglomeration. In order to produce durable pellets from the mine tailings, which consist primarily of silica, a binder must be added. A variety of binders were considered including magnesium and calcium chloride, bentonite, barite, cement, vinyl polymers, …

Passive Solar Distillation Of Acid Rock Drainage, Stephanie Shreve, Luke Galuska, Anna Stoller, Alex Raney, Agustin Caceres, Caitlyn Chambers, Chris Graham, Devin Hazlett

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Arkansas Razorback Distillers (A.R.D.) has developed a passive solar distillation system for treating acid rock drainage (ARD) from legacy (i.e., abandoned) mines. The solar still addresses the need to reduce both the metal sulfate contaminants as well as the acidity of acid rock drainage. During the design phase, A.R.D. addressed the need for the system to be low cost, simple, and effective for general use as well as a specified location. To demonstrate the applicability of the solar still, A.R.D. used the Freeport McMoRan Inc. Copper Queen legacy mine in Bisbee, Arizona, as a base case scenario. The mine was …

Proposal To Build Nylon 6,6 Plant: A Grassroots Economic Analysis, Caleb M. Woodall

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This report analyzes the profitability of building a grass roots Nylon 6,6 plant in Calvert City, Kentucky. A rigorous process simulation was produced, equipment prices were estimated, utility usage was assessed, and a plan for the plant organization was developed. The calculations yielded values for fixed capital investment ($10.5 million), working capital ($101 million) and revenue ($114 million). The discounted cash flow rate of return was calculated to be 8.94%. The conclusion drawn from these calculated values is that the current plan for the plant would not be profitable on a 10 year project life basis. However, recommendations are presented …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Sweet Sorghum As Feedstock For Second-Generation Biofuel Production, Karla Morrissey

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

There exist few life cycle assessments (LCAs) in the literature that focus on the second-generation biofuel production from sweet sorghum, a non-food-source feedstock that offers several advantages in terms of farming requirements compared to corn or sugarcane. The objective of this LCA study was to evaluate biofuels produced from sweet sorghum to determine the potential environmental benefits of producing sweet sorghum biofuel compared to conventional fossil fuels. The biofuel production process used for this study differed from other LCAs in that, in parallel to stalk juice extraction and fermentation, residual bagasse and vinasse was pyrolyzed and upgraded to a diesel …

Feasibility Analysis Of Recycled-Paper Fueled Agricultural Desalination Process: Design Of Recycling And Desalination Processes, Sean M. Street

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

While recycled-paper-briquettes have lower BTU ratings than wood, and fresh water is typically a low cost to agricultural entities, situations exist where economic and/or environmental factors may allow a recycled-paper-fueled desalination process to be viable for some specific agricultural entities. This document begins with a discussion of how water is priced throughout India before analyzing trends in the Maize futures market. By tying the two together, an opportunity is created for solution which the remainder of the document presents. Paper waste in India makes-up 50% of its solid waste country-wide; however, only a quarter of that waste is recycled - …

Evaluation Of Phosphorous Removals By Biochar Supported Nano-Scale Zero-Valent Iron, Maria S. Rossetti

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study evaluated the effectiveness of biochar-supported nano-scale zero-valent iron (nZVI/BC) in removing phosphorus (P) from water. Samples of nZVI/BC were prepared using aqueous nanoparticles synthesis techniques, and were mixed with a stock phosphorus solution. To determine P reductions water samples were tested for P content using the ascorbic acid method. This procedure was repeated for samples of stock P solution, zero-valent iron (ZVI), biochar, and ZVI/BC. nZVI/BC reduced P content by 86% whereas ZVI, biochar, and ZVI/BC removed 6%, -23%, and 17% respectively. This suggests that nZVI/BC has the potential to be an effective method of stormwater remediation.

Hollow Fiber Membranes For Artificial Lung Applications, Lauren Reed

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Artificial lungs are in use, but difficult issues remain in the field of membrane development related to fouling issues. Currently there are external artificial lungs circulating blood outside the body, taking out the carbon dioxide, and inserting oxygenated blood back into the body. An example of this type of machine is the ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine currently used in hospitals. The ECMO takes over the functions for both the lungs and the heart but is only available for short term use by patients with respiratory failure due to infections [1]. The fibers in the machine develop fouling due to …

Removal Of Carboxylic Acids And Water From Pyrolysis Oil, George Alexander Marshall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over 70% of the world’s energy consumption is provided by fossil fuels and with those reserves depleting at a fast rate, alternative energy sources or methods are needed to support the world’s energy needs. This research was done in an attempt to make it more economically feasible to produce fuel products, such as bio-diesel, from the upgrading of bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass waste material such as sawdust. The high water and oxygenated compound content of bio-oil make it undesirable for fuel use; however, two methods involving surface modified commercial membranes were utilized in hopes of overcoming these …

Chlorpyrifos Removal For Wastewater Reuse, Indran Kamalanathan

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Approximately 1.2 billion people around the world live in areas of physical water scarcity. This could increase to half of the world’s population by 2030 and could displace 24 to 700 million people unless steps are taken to ensure adequate water supply.¹ Water scarcity is an escalating issue within the United States, specifically in Western inland states with arid climates. This scarcity is encouraging communities to investigate tertiary level municipal wastewater treatment, allowing for reuse of wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains numerous contaminants that are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). …

Haul Truck Tires Recycling, Omkar Bhave

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of large Off-the-Road (OTR) tires is an increasingly important concern. These tires can weigh up to 8,450 pounds with an overall diameter and width of approximately 140.7 inches and 45.1 inches respectively. OTR tires are used for mining vehicles such as haul trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, graders, and trenchers.[1] These new tires cost between $38,000 and $50,000 each, depending on multiple factors including oil prices and the cyclical nature of the industry. Haul trucks contain six tires per vehicle, and mines replace these tires around every 9-12 months.[2] Statistics regarding discarded OTR tires are not provided by the …

Plasmonic Pervaporation For Sustainable Mixture Separation, Ty Austin

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The U.S. Department of Energy suggests that ca. 40% of the total energy consumed in the chemical and refining industries is used for distillation.¹ One potentially energy efficient alternative is pervaporation, a membrane separation process that uses differences in solvent permeability and vaporization rates to encourage mixture separation. Pervaporation has become a valuable tool in the processes of producing biofuels, recovering water, and removing solvent.^2,3 However, implementation has been hindered by heating the feed to the membrane and cooling the unpermeated retentate to increase membrane throughput at a higher energy cost. Preliminary research has shown that locally heating …

Design, Construction, And Preliminary Testing Of A Square Cross-Sectional Mixing Chamber, Holly Holmes-Smith

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Throughout the US, large quantities of chlorine are produced and transported by rail. In the past, train accidents led to deadly accidental releases and the need for mass evacuation. However, moving people unnecessarily may cause pandemonium or danger to health for sensitive members of the public. In these past cases, the models used for evacuation distances did not accurately predict the impact of the chlorine release, but these models did not take into account the reactivity of chlorine. Because chlorine is a highly reactive gas, it is absorbed into the surrounding environment which reduced the amount of chlorine in the …

Membrane Chromatography For Bioseparations: Ligand Design And Optimization, Zizhao Liu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane chromatography, or membrane adsorber, represents an attractive alternative to conventional packed bed chromatography used in downstream processing. Membrane chromatography has many advantages, including high productivity, low buffer consumption and ease to scale up. This doctoral dissertation focuses on developing novel polymeric ligands for protein separations using membrane chromatography. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), known as a controlled radical polymerization technique, has been used to control the architecture of grafted polymeric ligands. The center theme of this dissertation is to develop new polymeric ligands and investigate how the polymer’s property (e.g. flexibility, hydrophobicity) and architecture (e.g. chain density, chain length) …

Electrodeionization Versus Electrodialysis: A Clean-Up Of Produced Water In Hydraulic Fracturing, Brigitte Marie Rodgers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrodeionization (EDI) is a widely studied process ranging from applications in wastewater clean-up in the food and beverage industry to purifying organic compounds. To date, there are no apparent studies on applying this technology to produced wastewater recovered from hydraulic fracking sites. Water consumption within hydraulic fracturing sites can reach in the upwards of millions of gallons per site, so a need for a water recycling process becomes necessary within areas where water requirements are scarce. Implementation of an EDI module that is capable of handling high salt solutions from produced wastewater in subsequent fracturing practices will decrease overall water …

Initial Structural Subsidence As Reflected In Morrowan And Atokan (Pennsylvanian) Subsurface Stratigraphy, Northern Arkoma Basin, North-Central Arkansas, Fatimah Taher Nahi Al Asadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a carboniferous foreland basin that is known for its prolific gas production. The objective of this research is to study the initial subsidence of the basin by analyzing the strati-graphic and structural features of the study area. This was accomplished through IHS Petra, Surf-er 13, and Win-Tensor software. Field work studies comprised a large part of this study. Also, a seismic profile and Google earth elevation profiles are among the methods used to study the initial subsidence of the Arkoma Basin. The study area within the basin represents a transitional zone from the shelf into the …

Go With The Flow –Thermoelectric Energy, Shawn Bell

Middle School Lesson Plans

In this unit, students will learn how thermal energy be transferred and transformed. They will carry out investigations to gather evidence to support an explanation about direct conversion of heat into electrical energy. They will develop a model that shows the components of the system and changes in the system being investigated, and they will use evidence from the investigation to construct an explanation for how the energy flows.

Nanofiltration Rejection Of Contaminants Of Emerging Concern From Municipal Water Resource Recovery Facility Secondary Effluents For Potable Reuse Applications, Steven Michael Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As reuse of municipal water resource recovery facility (WRRF) effluent becomes vital to augment diminishing fresh drinking water resources, concern exists that conventional barriers may prove deficient and the upcycling of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) could prove harmful to human health and aquatic species if more effective and robust treatment barriers are not in place.

There are no federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulations in place specifically for direct potable reuse (DPR) of WRRF effluent. Out of necessity, some states are developing their own DPR reuse regulations. Currently, reverse osmosis (RO) is the default full advanced treatment (FAT) …

Haul Truck Tires Recycling, Jessica N. Lizarazu

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of large Off-the-Road (OTR) tires is an increasingly important concern. These tires can weigh up to 8,450 pounds with an overall diameter and width of approximately 140.7 inches and 45.1 inches respectively. OTR tires are used for mining vehicles such as haul trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, graders, and trenchers. These new tires cost between $38,000 and $50,000 each, depending on multiple factors including oil prices and the cyclical nature of the industry. Haul trucks contain six tires per vehicle, and mines replace these tires around every 9-12 months. Statistics regarding discarded OTR tires are not provided by the …

Removal Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds From Secondary Municipal Wastewater, Dustin R. Resz

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Approximately 1.2 billion people around the world live in areas of physical water scarcity. This could increase to half of the world’s population by 2030 and could displace 24 to 700 million people unless steps are taken to ensure adequate water supply.1 Water scarcity is an escalating issue within the United States, specifically in Western inland states with arid climates. This scarcity is encouraging communities to investigate tertiary level municipal wastewater treatment, allowing for reuse of wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains numerous contaminants that are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Many …