Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Rheological Measurement Of A Starch Suspension As A Dilatant Fluid, Earl Edward Pape

Masters Theses

"The measurement of the rheological properties, consistency of viscosity and fluid type, necessary for system design calculations, has fallen behind the industrial applications for non-Newtonian fluids. In the petroleum industry in particular, the process of well flow stimulation known as Hydraulic Fracturing utilizes the properties of various non-Newtonian fluids to carry sand at high flow rates to the formation to be fractured. Other non-Newtonian fluids in the petroleum industry are Bentonite clay drilling fluids, whose unique gelling properties are helpful in suspending drill cuttings when the circulation of the fluid has ceased. In Newtonian liquids and gases the consistency is …

Effect Of Gamma Radiation On Selected Organic Protective Coatings, James W. Johnson

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this investigation was to prepare pigmented and non-pigmented organic protective coatings and to irradiate them with gamma rays. The coatings received a constant radiation dose of eight million rads. Seven tests were performed on the various coatings. The data from the tests were tabulated so that a direct comparison could be made as to the effect of the radiation on the coatings. The data from the tests also enabled comparisons to be made to determine if the various pigments had imparted any specific properties that would be desirable in coatings being exposed to radiations"--Introduction, page 2.

Design Of Liquid-Liquid Extraction System, Mehdi Rahmani Fard

Masters Theses

"The unit operation of liquid-liquid extraction has developed enormously in the last 20 years and is now recognized as one of the most important techniques for the physical separation and refining of industrial liquids. For years the conventional apparatus used for liquid-liquid extraction has been towers employing countercurrent flow of the liquids and equipped with various means to increase the interfacial area.

The countercurrent column consists of a tower through which flows a continuous phase while countercurrent to this flow is a stream of droplets (the dispersed phase). Provision is made for dispersing one phase with a settling region at …

Reconstruction Of A Model L Podbielniak Fractional Distillation Apparatus, Raymond Bauer

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this thesis was to reconstruct a Model L Podbielniak Fractional Distillation Apparatus to provide equipment suitable for the study of batch multicomponent distillation. The apparatus will also serve as an analytical instrument. The equipment was instrumented to automatically control the distillation, but an operator is needed to select fractions and insure the proper functioning of the controls.

Samples of hydrocarbon mixtures of known composition were analyzed to prove the successful operation of the reconstructed apparatus"--Introduction, pages 2-3.

Design Of Distillation Solvent Recovery System, Donald Empson Puyear

Masters Theses

"With the advent or the atomic bomb during the summer of 1945 the opportunity for engineering colleges to provide an integrated course of study in the field of nuclear engineering was presented. This opportunity has been greatly enhanced by a policy of the Atomic Energy commission, granting funds to selected institutions for equipment necessary for successful instruction in this field. The Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, realizing the opportunity presented, has established a course of study in nuclear engineering in which the departments of Ceramic, Chemical, Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering and Physics are taking an active part.

That portion …

A Simplified Mathematical Method For Petroleum Property Evaluation, Charles G. Edwards

Masters Theses

"The economic evaluation of a petroleum reservoir involves two fundamental operations; 1) predicting future production behaviour, 2) determining the present worth or this future production. This thesis purposes to eliminate the necessity of repeated calculation which is required in performing the second operation under existing methods.

Because the first operation, that of predicting future behaviour, is necessarily an estimate, there is an apparent tendency to employ approximate methods in the determination of present worth. The evaluation method developed in this paper confines estimation to the first operation, where it rightly belongs, and treats all subsequent work with mathematical exactness.The estimation …

Heat Transfer Coefficient Of Paint Films, Richard F. Justus

Masters Theses

"Many studies of heat transmission have been carried out on various kinds of surfaces. But relatively few investigators have studied the loss of heat from a painted surface. Any surface will lose or gain heat by one or more of the three mechanisms of heat transmission: conduction, convection, and radiation. These mechanisms are thoroughly discussed by McAdams.

Heat transmission can be analyzed by determining thermal conductivity for conduction, overall coefficient for convection, and emissivity for radiation. The resistance concept is useful in indicating the various components of the overall coefficients and in analyzing problems in thermal conduction.

In studying heat …

A Study Of The Production Of Thorium Nitrate, K. P. Chona Panikkar

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this investigation was to study the various methods of producing Thorium Nitrate from monozite sand. This investigation includes a study of the Chemistry of Thorium and estimation of the Thorium Oxide content of monozite sand obtained from North Carolina"--Introduction, page 1.

Promotion Of Dropwise Condensation By Silicones, Charles Orlando Reed Jr.

Masters Theses

"Within this rather extensive field of study, transfer of heat through fluid films and heat transfer during the condensation process have been the subject of considerable thought and investigation both from a theoretical standpoint and with the aim of collecting data on specific systems to aid the design and construction of equipment in which heat transfer is involved….

The phenomenum of dropwise condensation has not become a common one in industrial practive for a number of reasons, namely, the difficulty in maintaining the activity of the promoter without frequent makeup because of impermanent attachment and volatility, the difficulty in finding …

Further Studies Of Vapor-Liquid Equilibria Of Methanol-Ethylene Glycol-Water, Herbert Benjamin Sachs

Masters Theses

"The freezing points of the ternary system methanol-glycol-water have been investigated by Conrad, Hill and Ballman. The vapor-liquid equilibria of the same system was studied by Sjoberg. These investigations were carried out to determine the properties of the system relative to its possible use as an antifreeze mixture.

Since Sjoberg's work in 1948, the improved Othmer equilibrium still has been introduced for vapor-liquid experimental determinations. It is therefore the purpose of the present investigation to evaluate the use of this still, compare results with those obtained by Sjoberg, and analyze ternary mixtures for the entire range of glycol concentrations.

The …

The Use Of A Steady State Flow Reactor In The Study Of Rapid Gas Phase Reactions, Ormond Kennedy Lay

Masters Theses

"The demonstration of the feasibility of rocket propelled devices for various purposes within the past few years has initiated an intensive search for suitable reactants for use as rocket fuels. Consequently, the investigation of the properties of chemical reactions which rapidly liberate large quantities of energy has assumed major importance. In order that such reactions may be adapted to practical use as rocket propellants knowledge of the characteristics of these reactions is required. Properties such as+ the mechanism of the reaction, the speed of the reaction under varied conditions of temperature, pressure and concentrations, the conditions required for the initiation …

An Investigation Of The Use Of Surface-Active Agents In The Secondary Recovery Of Oil By Water Flooding, Robert P. Schafer

Masters Theses

"The importance of producing oil cannot be emphasized enough in this modem world. Therefore, when primary methods of production seemingly exhaust the oil reservoirs, a secondary method of producing more oil is a necessity. At the present time, secondary methods of oil recovery have developed into a large industry. They are not a new development. The need of introducing compressed air or air-gas mixtures into the wells to increase production was quickly realized. Water flooding methods followed, and at first were restricted to the Eastern fields. Later, about 1935, systematic water flooding methods were developed and applied all over the …

Temperature Kinetics Of Nitrogen Dioxide-Ammonia Reactions, George Dillender Jr.

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this project was to study the rapid rate of reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia and if possible to determine the mechanism of the reaction.

The author became interested in this project through his interest in rockets, jets, and the types of fuel that are used to propel them.

The prospect of using nitrogen dioxide and ammonia as a possible fuel was the basic reason for the selection of this project.

Very little has been done in the study of the reaction of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia, although the reaction seems to be a simple one.

How …

Experimental Techniques In The Kinetic Study Of Rapid Gas Phase Reactions, William Dean Burch

Masters Theses

“In recent years chemical kinetics has assumed a prominent role in Chemical Engineering studies. While a considerable amount of data is available in the general field, very little is available for rapid gas phase reactions, i. e., reactions that are completed in from a few milliseconds up to a few seconds. Recently techniques have been developed for the measurement of the rate of such reactions.

With the advent of jet aircraft, the study of very rapid oxidation reactions becomes imperative. One such reaction that presents itself in this category is the oxidation of anhydrous ammonia in the vapor state by …

Porosity-Permeability Relationships Of Unconsolidated Sands, Robert Marchel Ponder

Masters Theses

"Unconsolidated sand reservoirs containing oil and gas present difficult problems to the petroleum engineer. Among these problems is that of the determination of the reservoir porosity to facilitate oil and gas reserve and evaluation calculations.

This problem is especially difficult because, to the author's knowledge, no method has been devised to obtain a core sample of the unconsolidated sand that retains the same porosity and permeability characteristics in the laboratory as it had underground. As a result, the petroleum engineer must rely upon empirical methods of calculating the reservoir porosity when the sand is not consolidated.

Many investigators have attempted …

Oil Field Corrosion, Edwin Harry Barsachs

Masters Theses

"The corrosion of metals in the petroleum industry has become an important engineering problem. The rapid increase during recent years in costs of steel has caused the industry to intensify its efforts to minimize corrosion losses in pipe lines and well casings. An industry-wide research program has resulted in the development of improved methods of controlling corrosion of such equipment.

The purpose of this paper is to assemble and correlate the information concerning the different causes, the detection, and the mitigation of corrosion of metals used in the oil fields of the world. The causes that are presented in this …

The Use Of Oil-Base Drilling Fluids, William Wesley Collins

Masters Theses

"Within the past few years the development of oil-base drilling fluids has become one of the more important contributions to drilling and production technology. The use or these new muds has increased as the benefits obtained have become more widely known and appreciated. Major problems in the petroleum industry have been, for many years, the contamination or drilling muds by salt water; control of mud when drilling through anhydrite, gypsum, or salt deposits; control of heaving or swelling shale; and water or mud blocking or the producing horizons. The development or oil-base drilling fluids is a direct contribution or engineers …

Recovering Oil From An Unconsolidated Sand By Means Of Combustion, David K. Anderson

Masters Theses

"For many years, there has been talk expressing great concern about the oil reserves in the United States. Every four or five years, articles are published stating that we are running out of oil and our proved reserves, to date, are only adequate, at our present rate of consumption, for about 20 years. While this is true, it does not leave us with the complete picture. The industry in the past 20 years has never had more than a 20 year reserve. It must be said, however, that it is becoming more difficult with each passing year to find oil …

A Study Of An Industrial Waste Produced In The Manufacture Of Titanox, Kurt H. Frank

Masters Theses

"The problem involved in this thesis is definitely of an industrial nature in that it deals specifically with waste from a plant that is primarily concerned with the manufacture of pigment.

….the plant does have a method of recovering the soluble titanium by returning the overflow from the Dorr thickener to the digestion tanks to dilute (cut) the digestions. However, in the underflow (sewer) there is a tremendous amount of sludge that is sent directly into the nearest stream because of failure to realize something economical to do with it. This sludge contains roughly 30 per cent solids of the …

Well Interference In The South Silica Field, Langdon B. Taylor

Masters Theses

"During World War II the Federal Government restricted oil-field drilling in the United States in order to conserve steel. The wartime regulations required 40-acre spacing in most areas. At the close of the war, the Federal drilling restrictions were lifted, and control of oil-well spacing reverted to the several state regulatory bodies. Each of these state agencies was then confronted with this problem: should 40-acre spacing be continued or should pre-war 10- and 20-acre spacing patterns be re-established?

The regulatory authority in Kansas, the State Corporation Commission, ordered an investigation in January, 1946, for the purpose of developing information upon …

The Design Of An Apparatus For The Study Of Fast And Slow Chemical Reactions Involving Gases And A Kinetic Investigation Of The Catalytic Decomposition Of Silver Oxide, Hilbert Walter Crocker

Masters Theses

"An outstanding chemical engineer has stated that chemical kinetics is at present in a state similar to that of thermodynamics thirty years ago. The current situation with respect to thermodynamics and chemical engineering appears to be that a fair number of engineers understand the theory and appreciate the practical value of thermodynamics but are frequently handicapped in its use by a lack of data. This is especially true where data on material at extreme temperatures and pressures are required as in nuclear energy and jet propulsion development. The current situation with respect to chemical kinetics and chemical engineering is that …

The Specific Radioactivity And Ratio Of Hafnium To Zirconium In Ores From Different Continents And The Preliminary Design Of A Process For Producing Hafnium, Arliss V. Martin

Masters Theses

"An investigation of the weight ratio of hafnium to zirconium in ores from widely separated regions of the world was undertaken to extend knowledge on this ratio obtained by modern means and to compare with the results of previous investigators. This type of information is of interest in geochemical considerations and the value of some similar information in the literature has been vitiated by the relatively recent finding that past methods of analysis are not satisfactory. The specific radioactivity of the original ores was determined in an attempt to check the proposition originated by Hevesy and apparently generally held by …

Relationship Of The Overall Transfer Coefficient To The Factor In Ammonia Absorption, Ivan Lee Gray

Masters Theses

"Gas absorption has an important role in chemical and allied industries. It is used to separate one of a group of constituents from a gas stream. Poisonous or obnoxious gases may be removed from the gaseous waste products of chemical plants by absorbing them in suitable solvents.

Many investigations have been carried out and references too numerous to list have appeared in the literature on the general subject of absorption.

In all of this work one of the usual methods of reporting results has been to express the capacity of a piece of absorption equipment as an overall capacity coefficient …

Design And Test Of An Apparatus For Rate Measurements Of Rapid Gas Reactions, Erich Rolaff

Masters Theses

"The present study on rapid gas reactions was initiated with two main goals in view. The first objective was the development of equipment and methods for the treatment of problems arising in extremely rapid gas phase reactions. In recent years, with the advent of large scale applications of gas turbines and rocket motors, the process of high speed gas reactions, especially those of combustion and oxidation have become of increasing importance...The second main goal of the work was to apply the methods and equipment developed to the investigation of chemical systems of interest"--Introduction, page 1-2.

Thermal Recovery Of Petroleum By Electrical Heating, Harold Roy Coffer

Masters Theses

"It is the purpose of this investigation to study the feasibility of recovering oil from laboratory size cores by passing electric current through the formation. If a voltage of sufficient magnitude could be applied to the formation to cause a flow of current, the formation would be heated. This heat should stimulate the flow of oil. The expansion of any gas present in the core together with the formation of hydrocarbon vapors should provide sufficient expulsive force to drive oil from the core. The effect of power expenditure, the necessary voltages, the changes of conductivity and power factor of the …

Investigation Of The Effect Of Absorption Tower Size Upon Overall Mass Transfer Coefficients, James Robert Murrell

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this research project was to obtain data and determine whether or not a correlation exists between tower size and the overall mass transfer coefficient for a packed tower. A constant ratio of tower diameter to packing diameter of twelve to one was maintained. Three absorption towers were used; a twelve inch diameter iron tower, a six inch diameter iron tower, and a three inch diameter glass tower. One inch, one-half inch, and one-fourth inch Raschig rings were used in the corresponding towers as packing. The system used was the absorption of acetone by water from an acetone-air …

The Freezing Temperatures Of The System Aniline-Ortho Toluidine, Ray W. Fahien

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this investigation was to determine the freezing temperatures of the system aniline-ortho toluidine and to speculate on the theoretical significance of these results. The properties of this system are of considerable practical engineering interest since the system falls in a class of low-freezing organic mixtures which may have value as fuels for jet propulsion devices required to operate at extreme altitudes or in Arctic regions. Since nitric acid has been found to be a very effective and convenient oxidizer, the search for a suitable fuel to be used in combination led to aniline as having the most …

The Electrolytic Recovery Of Silver From Waste Silver Residues, Bailey Warren Hagar

Masters Theses

"A considerable amount of silver is contained in the silver chloride-silver thiocyanate residue resulting from the use of silver nitrate and potassium thiocyanate by students of quantitative analysis in the volumetric determination of chlorine. The main objective of work described in this paper, therefore, was to find a simple and efficient method for recovering the silver from this silver chloride-silver thiocyanate residue...it was hoped that the experimentation described in this paper might also result in the design of inexpensive equipment which might be used by the small photographic shop"--Introduction, page 1-2.

Investigation Of The Emulsifying Properties Of Iso-Electric Gelatin, Ellsworth Warren Hudgens

Masters Theses

"A considerable amount of work has been done on the use of gelatin as a stabilizer or as a protective colloid in emulsions, or in other colloidal systems. However, relatively little research has been published using gelatin solely as an emulsifying agent. With this in mind it was decided to investigate the emulsifying properties of iso-electric gelatin with water - oil systems. The term oil, as used, refers to any liquid immiscible with water. It has long been known that gelatin would form dual type of emulsions with certain "oils" by varying the phase volume ratio of the two liquids. …

Further Studies - Heat Transfer Coefficients For Liquids In Forced Convection Normal To Banks Of Staggered Tubes, Terrell C. Claunch

Masters Theses

"The problem for these experiments may be divided into two sections. The first section of the problem consists of setting up procedure for duplicating data. The second section is that of studying and explaining characteristics of the resulting curves. Correlation of the data obtained will be necessary in order to obtain the curves. In order that the first section of the problem could be solved it was necessary to establish a standard of cleanliness for the apparatus used. Establishment of procedures for the operations and cleaning of the apparatus was necessary. Before Kenneth E. Rudert began his design and construction …