Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Sustainable P2 Design For Batch-Based Specialty Chemical Manufacture, Brigitte Pastore

Theses and Dissertations

A case study has been conducted on the reduction of n-methyl-2-pyrrilodone (NMP) solvent waste in the manufacture of polyimide and polybenzoxazole precursors. The evaluation includes the environmental and economic assessment of solvent recovery and substitution strategies. A two-step distillation process proved effective in recovering 95% of the NMP at a purity of 99.97% from the aqueous solvent waste stream. Yearly operating costs were reduced by 83% and total life cycle emissions were reduced by 44%, due to reduction in virgin NMP use and hazardous waste disposal. With capital acquisition, the recovery option would still result in a net present value …

Voltammetric Analysis Of Mixtures Of Molten Eutectic Licl-Kcl Containing Lacl3 And Thcl4 For Concentration And Diffusion Coefficient Measurement, Zhong-Hang Wang, Devin Rappleye, Michael F. Simpson

Faculty Publications

Several electrochemical techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry-open circuit potential (CP-OCP), chronoamperometry (CA) and normal pulse voltammetry (NPV) were applied to the eutectic LiCl-KCl melt containing LaCl₃ and ThCl₄ at 773K. The dependence of diffusion coefficient of La(III) on concentration of LaCl₃ was investigated by using CV, CP and CA. As the concentration of LaCl3 increases, the D_La(III) value obtained from CV gradually decreases, while the values derived from CA and CP exhibit a dome-shaped variation trend. In the LiCl-KCl-LaCl₃-ThCl₄ system, the diffusion coefficients of La(III) and Th(IV) are both approximately constant …

Effect Of Spalled Particles Thermal Degradation On A Hypersonic Flow Field Environment, Raghava S. C. Davuluri, Huaibao Zhang, Alexandre Martin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Two-way coupling is performed between a spallation code and a hypersonic aerothermodynamics CFD solver to evaluate the effect of spalled particles on the flow field. Time accurate solutions are computed in argon and air flow fields. A single particle simulations and multiple particles simulations are performed and studied. The results show that the carbon vapor released by spalled particles tend to change the composition of the flow field, particularly the upstream region of the shock.

Methane Emissions As Energy Reservoir: Context, Scope, Causes And Mitigation Strategies, Xiaoli Chai, David J. Tonjes, Devinder Mahajan

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Methane (CH4) is now considered a bridge fuel between present fossil (carbon) economy and desired renewables and this energy molecule is projected to play an important role in the global energy mix well beyond 2035. The atmospheric warming potential of CH4 is 28-36 times, when averaged over a 100-year period, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this necessitates a close scrutiny of global CH4 emissions inventory. As the second most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG), the annual global CH4 emissions were 645 million metric tons (MMT), accounting for 14.3% of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Of this, five key anthropogenic sources: …

Champions’ Summer Defense: Manufacturing All-Natural Equine Spray, Brooke Riggs, Peter Rinaldi, Zach Taylor

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Research was conducted in 2014 and 2015 for the development of Champions’ Summer Defense, an all-natural product to protect horses from irritating and potentially harmful summer elements. This formulation provides sunscreen to protect the horses from sunburn and reduces coat bleaching. In addition, this spray acts as a conditioner and leaves the horse’s coat shiny by fighting dry skin and moisturizing the coat. Champions’ Summer Defense’s unique formulation is naturally antimicrobial, eliminating the need for a preservative and allows the product to be 100% natural. The antimicrobial property will also help prevent skin irritations from insects and will keep the …

Polyether Product Recovery: Salt-Induced Water-Polymer Separation, Carolina Andrea Mercado Buelvas, Chance Parrish, Rohit Sharma

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Evonik Industries currently loses approximately 50 tons of polyether product to wastewater washes annually. Evonik has requested an industrially viable solution to maximize the recovery of the lost product in the current process. It was required that the solution have a one year payback period, and be in compliance with current regulatory policies. Literature sources showed that salt is a commonly used agent to force the separation of polyether-water mixtures. Using this information, a method was developed using a salt already present in the process to induce a phase separation and to recover the polyether. An empirical multilinear refractive index …

Smart Medication Disposal: Subcritical Water Oxidation Of Pharmaceutical Compounds, Sharon Veeravalli, Charles Fricke, F. William Ronnau

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Disposal of unused or expired pharmaceuticals is neither safe nor environmentally-friendly. Current regulations for pharmaceutical disposal do not prevent environmental contamination. Industrial methods of disposing of waste medications can generate toxic compounds through incineration, or generate large volumes of waste through use of physical adsorbents. Medium sized providers (pharmacies, small clinics) typically hire expensive hazardous waste removal or dispose of these medications improperly.

The project goal is to deliver a safe, sustainable process, suitable for retail pharmacies and the like, for rendering pharmaceuticals chemically inactive. This project encompasses the development of a degradation process via testing of 5 model pharmaceuticals …

Development Of A Tabletop Soft Gel Encapsulation Machine, Amanda Carter, Lara Hamid, Harini Muralikrishnan, Bethlehem Solomon

Capstone Design Expo Posters

This VCU Chemical and Life Science Engineering student team is designing a tabletop gel encapsulation machine to produce ~50 capsules per minute enabling rapid changeover for research and development purposes for Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. The preliminary design is based on reverse engineering of the large-scale encapsulation machine. Building from an initial prototype that included die rolls with variable rotation speed control and temperature control, the team identified and designed additional components to produce soft gel capsules: (1) producing gelatin ribbons from molten gelatin, (2) synchronizing the injection of medicine and capsule formation, and (3) ensuring that the capsules seal properly. …

Nanoparticles As Lubricant Additives, Jacob Miller, Rayyan Alsinan, Zainab Suwaiket, Samuel Wojcicki

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Nanoparticles have generated interest in the oil industry as potential additives. Many nanoparticles have been shown to improve fuel economy and engine efficiency. However, there are an infinite number of nanoparticle formulations, and to test all these would be impossible. The objective of this project was to develop a predictive model which demonstrates the impact of factors such as size, concentration, and hardness on the performance of nanoparticles as oil additives.

The concentrations tested were 0.01% and 0.5% by mass in PAO4 base oil. The sizes tested were 5-15nm and 20-50nm. Using four compositions to approximate hardness, a 4 x …

Treatment Of Menorrhagia And Irregular Menstruation: Cryo-Fluid Ablation Of The Endometrium, Baha Endisha, Benjamin Green

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Menorrhagia and irregular menstruation, characterized as dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB), is a condition that affects 15 to 20% of reproductive and pre-menopausal women. Common treatments are invasive, painful, or have low success rates; there is a need for new treatment. A 2014-2015 senior design team developed a prototype treatment based on the hypothesis that if free fluid was circulated in the uterine cavity at temperatures between 0 and -15ᵒC, cell death of the 2cm reproductive endometrial layer in the uterine cavity could be achieved and induce long term amenorrhea. The current senior design team significantly modified the prototype to reach …

Improved Ballast Recovery In Water Treatment, Zach Canfield, Ruqaia Suleman, Jasmine Wang, James Westbrook

Capstone Design Expo Posters

SUEZ Environnement’s Densadeg XRC™ is a high throughput water clarification unit capable of removing total suspended solids (TSS) with the aid of a high density ballast material. The ballast material is separated from the waste solids through a hydrocyclone and recycled into the system. Separation is inefficient and the unit experiences loss of ballast at 7 to 14 lbs per million gallons of treated water through the overflow of the hydrocyclone. Currently, ballast must be added at the loss rate to maintain the proper concentration to remove TSS. This requires that water treatment plants must provide storage space for ballast …

Development Of Chemical Process Design And Control For Sustainability, Shuyun Li, Gaurav Mirlekar, Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado, Fernando V. Lima

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This contribution describes a novel process systems engineering framework that couples advanced control with sustainability evaluation for the optimization of process operations to minimize environmental impacts associated with products, materials and energy. The implemented control strategy combines a biologically-inspired method with optimal control concepts for finding more sustainable operating trajectories. The sustainability assessment of process operating points is carried out by using the U.S. EPA’s Gauging Reaction Effectiveness for the ENvironmental Sustainability of Chemistries with a multi-Objective Process Evaluator (GREENSCOPE) tool that provides scores for the selected indicators in the economic, material efficiency, environmental and energy areas. The indicator scores …

Modeling And Optimization Of High-Performance Polymer Membrane Reactor Systems For Water–Gas Shift Reaction Applications, Andrew J. Radcliffe, Rajinder P. Singh, Kathryn A. Berchtold, Fernando V. Lima

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In production of electricity from coal, integrated gasification combined cycle plants typically operate with conventional packed bed reactors for the water-gas shift reaction, and a Selexol process for carbon dioxide removal. Implementation of membrane reactors in place of these two process units provides advantages such as increased carbon monoxide conversion, facilitated CO2 removal/sequestration and process intensification. Proposed H2-selective membranes for these reactors are typically of palladium alloy or ceramic due to their outstanding gas separation properties; however, on an industrial scale, the cost of such materials may become exorbitant. High-performance polymeric membranes, such as polybenzimidazoles (PBIs), present themselves as low-cost …

Phosphate And Selective Anion Removal Of Waste Water In Industrial Systems, Daniel Dillon, Campbell Mccolley, Laura Strukl

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Phosphorous is an essential nutrient for a functioning water ecosystem, however, heightened levels caused by waste water and agriculture can be damaging. High levels of PO43- cause toxic algae blooms, which kill wildlife and contaminate drinking water supplies. Therefore, cheap, efficient phosphate removal systems are beneficial for commercial settings in order to meet governmental standards. Similar research and technology can aid in the removal of toxic heavy metals in industrial waste water. Using a packed column with solid supported media, both phosphate and other selective anions were successfully removed from water. This was confirmed by inductively coupled plasma analysis. Constraints …

Conference Program (Gpe 2016), Franco Berruti, Cedric Briens

5th International Congress on Green Process Engineering (GPE 2016)

No abstract provided.

State-Of-The-Art Review Of Cathodic Protection For Reinforced Concrete Structures, Aimee Byrne, Niall Holmes, Brian Norton

Articles

Cathodic protection (CP) limits the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell. This can be achieved either by using a more active sacrificial anode to create a driving current, or by using inert anodes and impressing a current onto the cathode surface using an external direct current (DC) source. Impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) is preferred where widespread protection is required, particularly in reinforced concrete structures. ICCP needs a constant DC power supply that is usually provided through a grid connection or independent generators. This paper presents the currently available CP systems for …

Hazardous Waste Reduction: Hexamethyldisiloxane, William Keesee, Reuben Gol, Kennet Castillo

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Waste Reduction: (1) Engineering problem - The manufacturing of a Silicone intermediate creates a flammable waste stream that must be disposed of at cost to QSI (0.48$/lb.). This stream contains two phases, which are mainly hexamethydisiloxane (HMDS) and aqueous ammonium hydroxide in roughly 50/50 ratio by volume. The HMDS phase (upper) is flammable and is thus hazardous. The clean aqueous phase (lower) can be discarded via the sewer at no cost if the flash point is above hazardous classification (60 °C). (2) Project deliverables - The Engineering solution must reduce the yearly volume of waste to under 13 tons/year and …

Method Of Mold Release From Process Equipment, Craig Paris, Jason Marshall, Trae Fuller

Capstone Design Expo Posters

Once a process cycle has been completed, glass condom molds are removed from spindles that connect them to the process equipment. Currently, glass molds are removed by destroying the glass around the spindle, resulting in safety hazards from glass shards, monetary loss due to replacement cost, and also loss of money due to the labor cost associated with time spent cleaning up the glass shards and breaking the molds. To solve the dilemma, the sponsor demanded a safe, cost efficient method or addition that would not harm the process during the cycle nor damage the spindle and glass molds at …

The Response Of An Ellipsoidal Colloid Particle In An Ac Field, Cornelius Adebowale Obasanjo

ETD Archive

The quest for new smart materials with engineered properties and desired functionalities has driven scientists into the domain of nanotechnology over the past 30 years. Particles with anisotropic properties as a result of their geometry, chemical patterning or surface functionality have been envisioned as building blocks for advanced materials. By tuning the anisotropic interactions engendered by anisotropic particles, one potentially could manipulate the dynamic pathways for assembly.

The work described in this thesis considers the response of an ellipsoidal colloid particle to a nearby AC electrode polarized at ~0.1 – 4 kV/m and ~0.1 – 3 kHz. The ellipsoidal particle, …

Hybrid Metal Oxide Cycle Water Splitting, Richard B. Diver Jr, Robert D. Palumbo, Nathan P. Siegel, James E. Miller

Other Faculty Research and Publications

Hybrid thermochemical water splitting cycles are provided in which thermally reduced metal oxides particles are used to displace some but not all of the electrical requirements in a water splitting electrolytic cell. In these hybrid cycles, the thermal reduction temperature is significantly reduced compared to two-step metal-oxide thermochemical cycles in which only thermal energy is required to produce hydrogen from water. Also, unlike the conventional higher temperature cycles where the reduction step must be carried out under reduced oxygen pressure, the reduction step in the proposed hybrid cycles can be carried out in air, allowing for thermal input by a …

Pure And Binary Adsorption Of Methane And Nitrogen On Silicalite, Prahar S. Vaidya

ETD Archive

Separation processes comprise a large portion of the activity in the chemical and petrochemical industries. For the chemical, petroleum refining, and materials processing industries as a group, separation processes are considered to be critical. Almost all the applications of chemical industries involves mixtures, so innovation in separation technology not only enhances productivity and global competitiveness of U.S. industries, but is also critical for achieving the industrial energy and waste reduction goals. Traditionally, air separation to produce nitrogen and oxygen and to separate nitrogen from methane was practiced by cryogenic distillation, which involved expensive high pressure units and large requirement of …

State Estimation Of Glucose And Insulin Dynamics, Morgan Nicholas Miller

ETD Archive

Process simulation and state estimation have very important applications in chemical engineering as well as the biomedical field. Diabetes is a rapidly growing disease in the United States with 29 million people already diagnosed. The estimation of glucose and insulin concentration in patients is necessary in order to effectively treat diabetes. The Bergman Minimal Model is a popular process model that is used to simulate glucose and insulin dynamics. A simulation of this model was created based on estimated parameters for the model from historical data. This thesis investigated the estimation of glucose concentration, insulin concentration, and effect of active …

Effects Of Digestate, Magnesium Sulfate, And Dipotassium Hydrogen Phosphate/Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate On Microalga, Scenedesmus Dimorphus, Zhuohui Joe He

ETD Archive

Digestate (D), the remaining substance after anaerobic digestion of a biodegradable feedstock, is rich in inorganic contents, which makes it a good candidate for growing algae for biofuel production. Previous studies showed digestate at around 1.25% to 1.75% (v/v) dilution is suitable for algae growth. In this study, magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate/potassium dihydrogen phosphate (K-P) were added to diluted digestate growth media. Two sets of experiments were conducted in batch reactor mode to identify the digestate (D), magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate/potassium dihydrogen phosphate (K-P) concentrations that would optimize the algae growth. Algae growth parameters, …

Engineering Gold Nanoparticles And Their Use To Control Nucleation, Pedram Jahanian

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study focuses on fabrication of hybrid nanostructures using gold nanoparticles (AuNP) as seeds and partially oxidized potassium tetracyanoplatinate, known as Krogmann’s salt (KCP), and later this method will be employed to manufacture a prototype sensor for detecting different vapors. Nanocrystals are synthesized using electrochemical method with the aim to have more control over the size and shape of the charge transfer salt based on the seed mediated nucleation method. AuNP seeds are prepared on highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) substrate by the electrocrystallization method. An aqueous solution of 0.05 to 1 mM Hydrogen tetrachloroaurate (HAuCl4) with 0.1 mM (Potassium …

Life Cycle Based Sustainability Assessment And Decision Making For Industrial Systems, Hao Song

Wayne State University Dissertations

Increasing concern with the environmental impact resulted from human activities has led to a rising interest in sustainable development that will not only meet the needs of current development but also protect the natural environment without compromising the needs of future generations. This leads to the necessity of a systems approach to decision-making in which economic, environmental and social factors are integrated together to ensure the triple bottom lines of sustainability. Although current studies provide a variety of different methodologies to address sustainability assessment and decision-making, the increasing size and complexity of industrial systems results in the necessity to develop …

Force Field Development With Gomc A Fast New Monte Carlo Molecular Simulation Code, Jason Richard Mick

Wayne State University Dissertations

In this work GOMC (GPU Optimized Monte Carlo) a new fast, flexible, and free molecular Monte Carlo code for the simulation atomistic chemical systems is presented. The results of a large Lennard-Jonesium simulation in the Gibbs ensemble is presented. Force fields developed using the code are also presented. To fit the models a quantitative fitting process is outlined using a scoring function and heat maps. The presented n-6 force fields include force fields for noble gases and branched alkanes. These force fields are shown to be the most accurate LJ or n-6 force fields to date for these compounds, capable …

New Chemistry For The Growth Of First-Row Transition Metal Films By Atomic Layer Deposition, Joseph Peter Klesko

Wayne State University Dissertations

Thin films containing first-row transition metals are widely used in microelectronic, photovoltaic, catalytic, and surface-coating applications. In particular, metallic films are essential for interconnects and seed, barrier, and capping layers in integrated circuitry. Traditional vapor deposition methods for film growth include PVD, CVD, or the use of plasma. However, these techniques lack the requisite precision for film growth at the nanoscale, and thus, are increasingly inadequate for many current and future applications. By contrast, ALD is the favored approach for depositing films with absolute surface conformality and thickness control on 3D architectures and in high aspect ratio features. However, the …

Development Of Three-Dimensional Lung Multicellular Spheroids In Air- And Liquid-Interface Culture For The Evaluation Of Anticancer Therapeutics, Samantha A. Meenach, Alexandran N. Tsoras, Ronald C. Mcgarry, Heidi M. Mansour, J. Zach Hilt, Kimberly W. Anderson

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Three-dimensional (3D) lung multicellular spheroids (MCS) in liquid-covered culture (LCC) and air-interface culture (AIC) conditions have both been developed for the evaluation of aerosol anticancer therapeutics in solution and aerosols, respectively. The MCS were formed by seeding lung cancer cells on top of collagen where they formed spheroids due to the prevalence of cell-to-cell interactions. LCC MCS were exposed to paclitaxel (PTX) in media whereas AIC MCS were exposed to dry powder PEGylated phospholipid aerosol microparticles containing paclitaxel. The difference in viability for 2D versus 3D culture for both LCC and AIC was evaluated along with the effects of the …

On The Linear Approximation Of Mixture Internal Energies Of Departure, Robert B. Kelly, Angelo Lucia

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Direct Monte Carlo simulation of internal energies of departure for binary mixtures of geological interest are gathered and compared to those calculated using a linear mixing rule. Simulation results for gas–oil, oil–oil, and oil–water mixtures show that the linear mixing rule used in the Gibbs–Helmholtz Constrained (GHC) equation of state framework gives accurate approximations of binary mixture internal energies of departure. A flowchart for computing internal energies of departure using Monte Carlo simulation is included along with a sensitivity analysis for the GHC mixture energy parameter with respect to uncertainty in internal energies of departure.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Nanocomposite Microparticles (Ncmp) For The Treatment Of Cystic Fibrosis-Related Infections, Zimeng Wang, Samantha A. Meenach

Chemical, Biomolecular, and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose:

Pulmonary antibiotic delivery is recommended as maintenance therapy for cystic fibrosis (CF) patients who experience chronic infections. However, abnormally thick and sticky mucus present in the respiratory tract of CF patients impairs mucus penetration and limits the efficacy of inhaled antibiotics. To overcome the obstacles of pulmonary antibiotic delivery, we have developed nanocomposite microparticles (nCmP) for the inhalation application of antibiotics in the form of dry powder aerosols.

Methods:

Azithromycin-loaded and rapamycin-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (NP) were prepared via nanoprecipitation and nCmP were prepared by spray drying and the physicochemical characteristics were evaluated.

Results:

The nanoparticles were …