Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Auditing And Biological Treatment Of Oleochemical Industry Waste, Fauziah Shahul Hamid

Student Works (2000-2009)

The utilization of renewable resources particularly from plant-based industries, such as, in the oleochemical sector makes it possible for further expansion of down-stream process products. However, to remain competitive the pollution generated from this industry should not be taken lightly. Implementation of cleaner technology into the oleochemical process will increase the efficiency of resource utilization of the industry, concurrently reducing quantity of waste generated. Waste audit conducted at Cognis Oleochemical (M) (COM) Sdn. Bhd. indicated that the major process-wastes generated by the facility were glycerol residue (GR) from Cognis Rika (M) Sdn. Bhd. (CRM) and wastewater sludge (WWS) from COM …

13-C Nmr Analysis Of Soot Produced From Model Compounds And A Coal, Mark S. Solum, Adel F. Sarofim, Ronald J. Pugmire, Thomas H. Fletcher, Haifeng Zhang

Faculty Publications

Soot samples, including the associated organics, produced from an Illinois No. 6 coal (five samples) and two model compounds, biphenyl (three samples) and pyrene (two samples), have been studied by ¹³C NMR methods. The coal soot data served as a guide to selection of the temperature range that would be most fruitful for investigation of the evolution of aerosols composed of soot and tars that are generated from model compounds. The evolution of the different materials in the gas phase followed different paths. The coal derived soots exhibited loss of aliphatic and oxygen functional groups prior to significant growth …

Nitrogen Transformations During Secondary Coal Pyrolysis, Haifeng Zhang, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A CO/H₂/O₂/N₂ flame was operated under fuel-rich conditions in a flat flame reactor to provide a high-temperature, oxygen-free environment to study secondary reactions of coal volatiles. The distributions of fuel nitrogen in the devolatilization products of four coals, ranging from high volatile bituminous to lignite, were obtained at gas temperatures ranging from 1159 to 1858 K. It was found that the initial nitrogen released was contained almost exclusively in the tar for all coals. Release of nitrogen from the char as light gases started at a later stage than tar nitrogen release. During secondary reactions, …

Purification And Characterization Of Crystallins By Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction, Ondrea Bermudez, Daniel Forciniti

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Crystallins are a family of water-soluble proteins that constitute up to 90% of the water-soluble proteins in mammalian eye lenses. We present in this paper an alternative purification method for these proteins using polyethylene glycol/dextran aqueous two-phase extraction. Under the appropriate conditions, we were able to recover the γ-crystallin fraction essentially free of the remaining proteins. High concentrations of salt at a neutral pH maximize the recovery of γ-crystallins in the top phase and minimize the contamination by the other proteins present in the lenses. The proposed protocol decreases the separation time by about 50%. The complex partition behavior observed …

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Using Sequencing Batch Reactor (Sbr) Under Tropical Conditions, Maria Violetta Thomas

Student Works (2000-2009)

In this research project a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) plant was tested for performance in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Suspended Solids (SS), under different temporal conditions. In addition, the removal of biological nutrients, namely ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen and phosphorous in the form of phosphate, from the sewage, with anaerobic and aerobic operations using SBR was studied. The performance of the SBR plant was observed under two operating conditions whereby the variable studied was the total cycle time of the SBR process; i.e. 8-hour cycle mode and 6-hour cycle mode. The effluent quality …

Linear-Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics Theory For Coupled Heat And Mass Transport, Yaşar Demirel, Stanley I. Sandler

Yaşar Demirel Publications

Linear-nonequilibrium thermodynamics (LNET) has been used to express the entropy generation and dissipation functions representing the true forces and flows for heat and mass transport in a multicomponent fluid. These forces and flows are introduced into the phenomenological equations to formulate the coupling phenomenon between heat and mass flows. The degree of the coupling is also discussed. In the literature such coupling has been formulated incompletely and sometimes in a confusing manner. The reason for this is the lack of a proper combination of LNET theory with the phenomenological theory. The LNET theory involves identifying the conjugated flows and forces …

Hysteresis During Cycling Of Nickel Hydroxide Active Material, Venkat Srinivasan, John W. Weidner, John Newman

Faculty Publications

The nickel hydroxide electrode is known to exhibit a stable hysteresis loop, with the potential on charge being higher than that on discharge at every state-of-charge (SOC). What we show here is that this loop created during a complete charge and discharge (i.e., boundary curves) is not sufficient to define the state of the system. Rather, internal paths within the boundary curves (i.e., scanning curves) can be generated that access potentials between the boundary curves. The potential obtained at any SOC, as well as how the material charges and discharges from that point, depends on the …

Multimode Quantitative Scanning Microwave Microscopy Of In Situ Grown Epitaxial Ba1-XSrXTio3 Composition Spreads, K. S. Chang, M. Aronova, O. Famodu, I. Takeuchi, S. E. Lofland, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers, H. Chang

Faculty Publications

We have performed variable-temperature multimode quantitative microwavemicroscopy of in situepitaxial Ba_1−xSr_xTiO₃ thin-film composition spreads fabricated on (100) LaA₁O₃ substrates. Dielectric properties were mapped as a function of continuously varying composition from BaTiO₃ to SrTiO₃. We have demonstrated nondestructive temperature-dependent dielectric characterization of local thin-film regions. Measurements are simultaneously taken at multiple resonant frequencies of the microscope cavity. The multimode measurements allow frequency dispersion studies. We observe strong composition-dependent dielectric relaxation in Ba_1−xSr_xTiO₃ at microwave frequencies.

Approximate Solutions For Galvanostatic Discharge Of Spherical Particles I. Constant Diffusion Coefficient, Venkat R. Subramanian, James A. Ritter, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

Approximate models are developed, based on second, fourth, and sixth order polynomials, that describe the concentration profile of an electrochemically active species in a spherical electrode particle. Analytical expressions are obtained that describe the way the concentration profiles, surface concentrations, and electrode utilization change during the galvanostatic discharge of an electrode particle. Based on a comparison with an exact analytical model over a wide range of dimensionless current densities, all three approximate models performed extremely well in predicting these quantities. Quantitative criterion for the validity of these models is also developed and shows that the sixth order, four parameter approximate …

Modeling Of A Nickel-Hydrogen Cell: Phase Reactions In The Nickel Active Material, B. Wu, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modeling Lithium Intercalation In A Porous Carbon Electrode, Gerardine G. Botte, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Hydrous Ruthenium Oxide-Carbon Supercapacitors, Manikandan Ramani, Bala S. Haran, Ralph E. White, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

It is shown that composite Ru oxide-carbon based supercapacitors possess superior energy and power densities as compared to bare carbon. An electroless deposition process was used to synthesize the ruthenium oxide-carbon composites. Ru is dispersed on the carbon matrix as small particles. The effect of electrochemical oxidation and temperature treatment on the material performance has been studied extensively. Increasing the oxidation temperature reduces the proton transport rate and also increases the degree of crystallinity of the deposits. This adversely affects the performance of the composite. Loading a small amount of Ru oxide (9 wt %) on carbon increases the capacitance …

Municipal Waste Characteristics And Management In Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur, Ratanam Andythaven

Student Works (2000-2009)

The primary purpose of this research was to study comprehensively the municipal waste generation (rate, quantity), waste characterization including (physical, chemical and biological parameters), heavy metal content, waste recovery and recycling, and socio economic aspects of municipal solid waste (MSW) generation and management in Taman Bukit Angkasa, Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas. The waste characterization and management was determined with actual field observations coupled with questionnaire survey from a random sample of 250 households (200 flats houses, 25 long houses and 25 squatter residences). The quantification and other parameters (heavy metals, water extractable nutrients, nitrogen, pH, acidity, …

Diamondlike Carbon Thin Film Deposition Using A Rf Planar Coil Inductively Coupled Plasma System, Wai Soon Liew

Student Works (2000-2009)

A RF planar coil inductively coupled plasma system (ICPs) is setup for this project. The system is powered by a 13.56MHz, 550W, 500 RF generator. The RF power is transferred to the plasma via a planar induction coil. The impedance matching circuit consists of an air-core step-down transformer and a tunable vacuum capacitor. The typical E-H mode transition which is distinctive to the ICP has been observed in argon plasma, hydrogen plasma and hydrogen-methane admixture plasma. The studies carried out include the observation of intensity of light emission from the plasma, the power transferred at different pressures, the concentration of …

The Effects Of Incorporation Of Polyethylene Glycol On Properties Of Silica-Carbon Black-Filled Rubber Compound, Yoke Cheng Tang

Student Works (2000-2009)

The use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to modify the surface of precipitated silica by means of physical adsorption was investigated. The effects of adding PEG on processing, cure and physical properties of a silica-carbon black-filled natural rubber truck tread compound were examined. For each series of investigation, two sets of experiments were conducted. Set I was to check the effects of both physical adsorption due to PEG and chemical modification due to a silane coupling agent, Si-69 on the surface of silica. Set 2 was to check the effects of physical adsorption due to PEG alone on the surface of …

Waste Management In Palm-Oleo Sdn. Bhd, Ramesh Ramasamy

Student Works (2000-2009)

Oleochemical industry in Malaysia has been diversifying significantly due to the availability of raw materials (palm oil) and the high demand for downstream products such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols and glycerine. The growth of oleochemical industries is further enhanced by fluctuations io petroleum price and regular animal diseases, which made tallow-based fats unreliable. Environmental awareness is growing rapidly in Malaysia. There is growing realization of the need to balance industrial and economic development with environmental preservation and protection, as well as, with efficient use of energy sources in order to achieve sustainable development. Extensive waste management studies were focused …

Immobolisation And Biochemical Characterisation Of A Selected Commercially Available Laccase, Chandra Sundaralingam

Student Works (2000-2009)

ln this study, laccase from Novo Nordisk was chosen for biochemical characterization and immobilization investigation. The specific aims of this work was to develop optimum conditions for immobilization of laccase by entrapment method using copper alginate and characterize the laccase biochemically. The pH optimum of the crude enzyme extract was 5.5 and was found to be stable over a wide range of pH values. The apparent molecular weight of this enzyme was around 79,000 Daltons. Three peaks of activity (isoenzymes) were obtained from isoelectric focusing of pH values 4.7, 5.2 and 6.0. The optimum pH of the immobilized laccase by …

Fixed Bed Biosorption Of Cu(Ii) By Immobilized Biomass Of Sargassum Baccularia, Kong Fei Tan

Student Works (2000-2009)

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using the immobilized biomass of Sargassum buccularia. a brown marine macro algae. to remove and recover copper ions in a fixed bed reactor by passive adsorption. This is commonly referred to as biosorpliun. Inactivated biomass of S. baccularia were chemically modified b) immobilizing it onto polyvinyl alcohol (PVA} as a support matrix. Spherical gel beads that were produced in this manner were subjected to mass transfer and equilibrium studies. The biosorption of copper is a bi-phasic process. with an initial fast phase for the first 2 hours followed …

Isolation, Screening And Characterisation Of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated From Local Food Sources, Ahmad Faris Mohd. Adnan

Student Works (2000-2009)

126 bacterial isolates were isolated from several local food sources. Out of these, 55 isolates were subsequently identified as lactic acid bacteria i.e. they were gram-positive and catalase negative. These 55 isolates were put through gel plug test to distinguish between homofermentative and heterofermentative isolates. 16 of the 55 lactic acid bacteria isolates were found to be homofermentative. From the 16 homofermentative isolates, seven were chosen on the basis of origin and sugars used in the enrichment process for preliminary physiological characterisation. Several conditions were chosen such as variable temperature, lactic acid tolerance, NaCl concentration and initial pH These serve …

Texture, Microstructure And Formability Of Aluminum Alloys, Xiang-Ming Cheng

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Texture, microstructure and formability were studied in Direct Chill Cast (DC) and Strip Cast (SC) aluminum alloys with regard to crystallographic anisotropy, the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and aging softening behavior. It was found that material properties change greatly with manufacturing processes (DC vs. SC) and chemical composition (3xxx vs. 5 xxx alloys). DC cast hot band materials are usually fully recrystallized and have strong softening textures while SC hot band materials have a rolling structure with strong deformation textures. Softening textures cause 90 earing while deformation textures result in 45 earing after deep drawing. During cold rolling, 90 earing in …

Effects Of Compression Processing Parameters And Antioxidants On Molecular Degradation Of Biodegradable Poly-L-Lactide (Plla), Thomas J. Hannan Jr.

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to find a combination of poly (L-lactic acid), also known as poly-L-lactide or (PLLA) and antioxidants that would, together, produce a product whose degradation rate would be advantageous for use in biodegradable medical implants. Intrinsic viscosity tests were conducted on compression molded samples of PLLA that were molded at various processing parameters in order to find optimal parameters. The optimal processing parameters were found to be time 10 minutes, temperature 220°C, and pressure 1000 psi.

The molecular weight of PLLA sample was taken while pressure, time, and temperature were varied. As pressure increased, no …

Electrodeposition Of Niw Alloys Into Deep Recesses, Lakshmikanth Namburi

LSU Master's Theses

Pulse electrodeposition has been investigated as a general technique for the electrodeposition of nickel-tungsten alloys in deep recesses for MEMS. Ni-W exhibits an induced codeposition mechanism, where the Ni reaction rate enhances the codeposition of W. Electrodeposition of this alloy has been achieved into recesses of 500 micron deep. The challenges that have been encountered are those related to gas evolving side reactions, local pH rises, diffusional limitations of the soluble species and long times required for filling the recesses. Electrodeposition on cylinder electrodes at different rotation rates was also carried out in order to obtain data on composition of …