Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Inorganic Biodegradable Substrates For Devices & Systems, Chang-Soo Kim, Richard K. Brow, Delbert E. Day

Patents

Disclosed are biodegradable glass substrates that are useful as functional elements of solid-state devices. In particular, biodegradable glass substrates having a rapidly degradable glass and a slowly degradable glass provide a structural platform that completely dissolves following a desired operational lifetime of devices such as implanted electronic devices, implanted sensor devices, and optical fibers.

Zeolite Monolith Compositions And Methods For The Catalytic Cracking Of Alkanes, Ali A. Rownaghi, Xin Li, Fateme Rezaei

Patents

Porous zeolite monolith compositions for the catalytic cracking of alkanes. The compositions may be prepared layer by layer using a 3D printer such that the compositions comprise a plurality of micropores and a plurality of mesopores and may be characterized by macro-meso-microporosity.

Shale Adhesion Force Measurements Via Atomic Force Microscopy, Nikolai Mitiurev, Michael Verrall, Svetlana Shilobreeva, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Wettability of sedimentary rock surface is an essential parameter that defines oil recovery and production rates of a reservoir. The discovery of wettability alteration in reservoirs, as well as complications that occur in analysis of heterogeneous sample, such as shale, for instance, have prompted scientists to look for the methods of wettability assessment at nanoscale. At the same time, bulk techniques, which are commonly applied, such as USBM (United States Bureau of Mines) or Amott tests, are not sensitive enough in cases with mixed wettability of rocks as they provide average wettability values of a core plug. Atomic Force Microscopy …

Characterization And Analysis Of Naturally Fractured Gas Reservoirs Based On Stimulated Reservoir Volume And Petro-Physical Parameters, Ali Al-Rubaye, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Muhammad Ali, Hisham Ben Mahmud

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2021, The Author(s). Fracture is one of the most important geological phenomena that affect the production of hydrocarbon compounds in broken carbonate reservoirs. However, fracture controlling factors must be combined with well data to achieve accurate fracture modeling. Therefore, structural data, drilling data, well flow diagrams, cores data, wells production data, and dynamic reservoir data have been considered here. Finally, by combining the above-mentioned information and through statistical and mathematical methods, the mechanism of fracture creation, general trends, and dominant fracture patterns are determined. These patterns are directly related to the tectonic regime and the stresses governing the region. …

Enhanced Oil Recovery By Hydrophilic Silica Nanofluid: Experimental Evaluation Of The Impact Of Parameters And Mechanisms On Recovery Potential, Tariq A. Chandio, Muhammad A. Manan, Khalil R. Memon, Ghulam Abbas, Ghazanfer R. Abbasi

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Nanofluids as an EOR technique are reported to enhance oil recoveries. Among all the nanomaterial silica with promising lab results, economic and environmental acceptability are an ideal material for future applications. Despite the potential to enhance recoveries, understanding the two-fold impact of parameters such as concentration, salinity, stability, injection rate, and irreproducibility of results has arisen ambiguities that have delayed field applications. This integrated study is conducted to ascertain two-fold impacts of concentration and salinity on recovery and stability and evaluates corresponding changes in the recovery mechanism with variance in the parameters. Initially, silica nanofluids’ recovery potential was evaluated by …

Application Of Fiber Optics Das On Completion Design Optimization, Aliou Sylla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Interstage communication during well stimulation reducing the effectivity of the well completion is known to be a concern in the oil and gas industry. The leading cause of this is fracture communication due to the presence of natural fractures where the formation is being hydraulically fractured. In this study, a technique was developed to map natural fractures, on a larger scale, underground to be able to avoid the high fracture intensity zones when hydraulically fracturing. This study developed a technique to optimize well completion designs by introducing the ability of locating natural fractures zones in the formation (Marcellus Shale) which …

Analyzing And Measuring Petrophysical Properties Of Marcellus Shale, Yahia Mustafa Yassin Mustafa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Unconventional oil and natural gas play a key role in our nation's future. The U.S. has vast reserves of such resources that are commercially viable as a result of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology. These technologies enable greater access to oil and natural gas in shale formations. Responsible development of America's shale gas resources offers important economic, energy security, and environmental benefits. Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling apply the latest technologies and make it commercially viable to recover shale gas and oil.

In order to estimate the original gas-in-place, predict the production rates, and optimize the hydraulic …

Dry Reforming Of Methane Using Microwave Irradiated Metal Oxide/Coal Char Catalysts, Anthony Carter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research focuses on the synthesis of both shaped and amorphous powder materials, the combination of these materials with dried Powder River Basin (PRB) coal char, and their reactionary properties with methane and carbon dioxide gasses with conventional and microwave (MW) heating. The first goal of this project was to synthesize shaped micro and nano sized particles with ideal dielectric properties for converting electromagnetic energy into heat and proven capabilities of activating methane. These particles were synthesized via solvothermal, hydrothermal, and co-preceptory treatments alone and onto the surface of dried PRB coal char. PRB is a sub-bituminous, low-ranking coal (LRC) …

Process Modeling And Techno-Economic Analysis Of Micro- Encapsulated Carbon Sorbents (Mecs) For Co2 Capture In A Fixed Bed And Moving Bed Reactors, Goutham Kotamreddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is seen as a suite of technologies to curb the carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and plays a crucial role to meet the net zero emissions target for many countries by 2050. One of the major sources for CO₂ emissions is combustion of fossil fuels. Various innovative capture technologies are being explored because the state-of-the-art monoethanolamine (MEA) based carbon capture technology has drawbacks such as corrosion, energy penalty. There are several potential solvents that have lower energy penalty, but they are highly viscous or may turn into solid phase in the absorber …

The Impacts Of The Net Stress And Stress Shadow On The Productivity Of Marcellus Shale Horizontal Well, Mohamed El Sgher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Shale gas development has become a crucial part of the global oil and gas industry in recent years, especially in North America. Even though the application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have successfully unlocked considerable reserves of natural gas in shale-gas reservoirs, production rates from unconventional reservoirs decline more rapidly than conventional reservoirs. This is because production from a reservoir results in an increase in net stress due to a reduction in the pore pressure, while overburden pressure remains constant. This leads to the reduction in permeability of both the matrix and the fissures, as well as the …

Investigating The Effect Of E30 Fuel On Long Term Vehicle Performance, Adaptability And Economic Feasibility, Adil Alsiyabi, Seth Stroh, Rajib Saha

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Due to the drawbacks associated with the use of petroleum derived fuels, the use of more sustainable fuel sources has garnered increasing attention in several sectors including road transportation. However, the transition away from gasoline is often hindered by the inability of currently operating vehicles to efficiently run under alternative fuels. Therefore, the logical short-term alternative is to transition to clean fuel sources including higher-ethanol fuel blends that are compatible with current fuel systems and spark-ignition engines. In this work, the long-term adaptability and economic feasibility of non-flex vehicles to consume a 30% ethanol (E30) fuel blend was investigated. Sixteen …

Periodicity In The Electrochemical Dissolution Of Transition Metals, Florian D. Speck, Alexandra Zagalskaya, Vitaly Alexandrov, Serhiy Cherevko

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Extensive research efforts are currently dedicated to the search for new electrocatalyst materials in which expensive and rare noble metals are replaced with cheaper and more abundant transition metals. Recently, numerous alloys, oxides, and composites with such metals have been identified as highly active electrocatalysts through the use of high-throughput screening methods with the help of activity descriptors. Up to this point, stability has lacked such descriptors. Hence, we elucidate the role of intrinsic metal/oxide properties on the corrosion behavior of representative 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals. Electrochemical dissolution of nine transition metals is quantified using online inductively coupled …

Hydrogen Adsorption On Sub-Bituminous Coal: Implications For Hydrogen Geo-Storage, Sefan Iglauer, Hussein Abid, Ahmed Z. Al-Yaseri, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that can potentially revolutionize the energy supply chain and decarbonize fuel consumption. However, a key hurdle that needs to be overcome before a full-scale hydrogen economy can be established is hydrogen storage which is currently the main limitation. Here, we propose that hydrogen gas can be stored in underground coal seams, where it adsorbs on the coal surface. However, currently, no hard data related to such a procedure exists. We, therefore, demonstrate experimentally that significant amounts of hydrogen gas can be stored via this route. Hydrogen adsorption capacities reached 0.6 moles H₂/kg of …

Electrospun Fiber Scaffolds For Engineering Glial Cell Behavior To Promote Neural Regeneration, Devan L. Puhl, Jessica L. Funnell, Derek W. Nelson, Manoj K. Gottipati, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Electrospinning is a fabrication technique used to produce nano-or micro-diameter fibers to generate biocompatible, biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. Electro spun fiber scaffolds are advantageous for neural regeneration because they mimic the structure of the nervous system extracellular matrix and provide contact guidance for regenerating axons. Glia are non-neuronal regulatory cells that maintain homeostasis in the healthy nervous system and regulate regeneration in the injured nervous system. Electro spun fiber scaffolds offer a wide range of characteristics, such as fiber alignment, diameter, surface nano topography, and surface chemistry that can be engineered to achieve a desired glial cell response …

Evaluation Of Robust Epoxy Resin Sealants For Wellbore Integrity Applications, Mohammed Mousa M Alkhamis

Doctoral Dissertations

"During the drilling and completion phases of oil and gas wells, cement is placed in the wellbore as a barrier between the casing and the formation. All casing strings must be cemented to protect and support the casing, and to isolate production zones. The primary cement must prevent the wellbore fluids from migrating in an annular flow path so as to allow the wells to be utilized without any control problems. The primary cement may fail to deliver full zonal isolation due to several reasons such as insufficient mud removal before the cementing, casing expansion, and contraction, high fluid losses, …

Chlorination As Drinking Water Disinfection Technique And Disinfection By Products: A Scientometric Analysis, Sapna Ramchandra Shinde, Sayali D. Apte Dr, Kanchan C. Khare Dr, Philipp Otter Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2015, defined to achieve a better and more sustainable future, contains goal number 6 related to safe and affordable drinking water facility for all till 2030. The rural and remote areas in the developing countries predominantly face the scarcity of pathogen free drinking water leading to water borne diseases and deaths due to consumption of contaminated water indicating a need of advancement in the drinking water disinfection techniques. The paper discusses scientometric analysis of publication trends in chlorination as a popular disinfection techniques and research related to the Disinfection By Products (DBPs) that are produced …

Kinetics Of Photolysis And Photocatalytic Oxidation Of Ammonium Sulfite For Hydrogen Production, Moustafa A. Soliman, Maryam Zakaria

Chemical Engineering

The production of hydrogen via photocatalytic water splitting is one of the most promising technologies for obtaining chemical energy from direct solar energy while maintaining the least possible waste and pollutants. In this paper, we obtain the kinetic parameters necessary for the design of a photoreactor for photolysis and photocatalysis of ammonium sulfite solution. For the case of photolysis, we obtain the kinetics for the effect of changing the pH on the produced amount of hydrogen. For the case of photocatalysis, the intrinsic kinetic parameters of photocatalysis of water splitting reaction of ammonium sulfite and water in the presence of …

Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery By Low Salinity Polymer Flood Combined With Microgel Treatment, Yang Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

“Heavy oil resources account for a large portion of the total oil reserves around the world. The target heavy oil reservoir is located on Alaska’s North Slope (ANS). Advantages of low-salinity HPAM polymer (LSP) over high-salinity polymer (HSP) were demonstrated. LSP could recover more oil with 40% less polymer consumption. No additional oil was recovered by HSP after LSP flood. The first-ever polymer flood pilot on ANS showed remarkable success regarding water cut reduction, oil production increase, delayed breakthrough, and projected oil recovery improvement. Polymer alone was insufficient to achieve satisfactory recovery as the reservoirs were highly heterogeneous. Microgels could …

New Horizons For Processing And Utilizing Red Mud, M. Archambo

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Red mud is an industrial slurry waste that is produced as a byproduct of the Bayer process for alumina. The waste is generated in large quantities, up to a ratio of 2:1 against the valued product alumina. Red mud exhibits many chemical and physical properties that categorize it as a hazardous material. Due to the addition of sodium hydroxide in processing, the pH is typically at values close to 13. Small particle size discourages separation from water for disposal, so drying red mud happens over many years.

The pH of red mud can be reduced with inexpensive reagents. Carbon dioxide …

Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Using Mineral Processing Methods, Ruiting Zhan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The surges in the volume of the retired Li-ion batteries (LIBs) in future motivate Li-ion battery recycling R&D activities worldwide. Within the Li-ion batteries, the most valuable component is cathode active materials that consist of critical minerals and materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese. The LIB recycling has been investigated at both the lab scale and industrial scale. There are three existing recycling methods, namely physical separation, pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy. Physical separation methods sort individual battery components without changing materials’ physical properties, while both pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling routes aim to recover valuable metals using a high-temperature process and …

Specifically Adsorbed Ions In Hematite Flotation, Natalia Parra Alvarez

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Specifically adsorbed ions, such as calcium and magnesium in iron ore flotation, are ions that can chemically bind with the mineral surfaces and alter the surface properties. Calcium and magnesium are unavoidable in process water and their concentrations are increasing due to water recirculation and reagent additions. These ions are detrimental to the flotation process. Calcium has always been the main focus in research, yet we found that magnesium is more detrimental in flotation due to its smaller atomic size. Starch adsorption in iron ore flotation is key for the effective depression of hematite. It has been determined by flotation, …

Anaerobic Reductive Bioleaching Of Manganese Ores, Neha Sharma

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The increasing demand of manganese in the industries and various hindrances in its production from low grade ores by conventional method has made it imperative for researchers around the world to develop a method of manganese extraction from low grade ores that is both environment friendly and economical. Bioleaching has shown significant potential in manganese extraction and efficiencies of extraction have been found to be 70-98% with the help of various bacteria and fungi.

This study focuses on extraction of manganese with the help of mixed bacterial strains that have been collected from their natural anaerobic environment. The extraction of …

The Extraction Of Waxes And Lipids From Sorghum Using Green And Renewable Solvents Followed By Conversion To Biofuels Using Gamma-Valerolactone Pretreatment, Marissa Gallmeyer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Plant matter contains waxes and lipids that can be extracted and used or sold as a value-added product prior to conversion of the remaining plant material to biofuels. Wax and lipid extraction of plant materials is currently performed using volatile, non-renewable hydrocarbons, primarily hexane, which is produced from fossil fuels and can pose a health and safety hazard. The purpose of this study is to compare the amount and characteristics of waxes extracted by hexane with those extracted using organic solvents that are less toxic and can be produced from renewable sources.

Sorghum samples were extracted separately with hexane, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran …

3d-Printed Adsorbents For Gas Separations: A Material Development, Kinetic Assessment, And Process Performance Investigation, Shane Lawson

Doctoral Dissertations

“Adsorbent materials are promising for various gas purification processes, however, forming them into structured contactors is paramount in enhancing mass transfer properties and reducing pressure losses. In this research, various adsorbents were engineered into structured contactors with 3D printing. The overall goal of this research was to improve the formulation methods of 3D-printed adsorbents and understand their performances in gas separation processes. The specific objectives were to 1) develop new adsorbent 3D-printing strategies, 2) understand the kinetic properties of printed adsorbent monoliths, and 3) assess their process performances. Objective one was addressed by developing five 3D printing techniques: i) oxide …

Studies On Protein Solubility, Ke Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"Solubility is a critical factor of protein-based drugs during processing and patient administration. This study focused on two aspects of solubility: one was the poly (ethylene) glycol (PEG) precipitation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and another was crystallins aggregation that is associated with cataracts. Protein precipitation by PEG is a common technique for downstream processing. The effects of pH, ionic strength and the exclude volume effect on the protein precipitation by PEG were extensively studied, but the effects of glycosylation on protein precipitation by PEG has not been examined. Protein aggregation is not only a problem in downstream processing, but it …

Cyclic Sequential Adsorption Desorption/Thermal-Catalytic Oxidation Of Volatile Organic Compounds: Material Development, Process Advancement/Improvement, And Numerical Modeling, Simulation And Optimization, Busuyi Ojo Adebayo

Doctoral Dissertations

"Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a group of useful organic chemicals but when emitted have contributed to air pollution. They affect human health, cause environmental degradation and contaminate our waters and soils, so they need to be controlled. When they exist in dilute concentrations, abatement becomes challenging, thus requiring advanced abatement methods, e.g., sequential adsorption desorption/thermal-catalytic oxidation process. The overall goal of this research was to abate dilute streams of VOCs via the process. The specific objectives were to 1) develop novel adsorbent/catalyst dual-function materials (DFMs) for the process, 2) improve the operability of a one-bed-one-column reactor configuration for the …

The Performance Of Tio2-Based Photocatalyst Coated Pet Films For Phi-X 174 Virus Inactivation, Purim Kusonsakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Catalyst coated films are of great interest due to their high performance, reuse, and facility in separation. TiO2 has shown high efficiency for photocatalytic reactions. In this work, the optimal coating condition and efficiencies of catalyst films on the photocatalytic oxidation reactions are shown. The results are shown that the %wt of Ti on PET film depends on the ratio of Si:Ti (amount of TEOS) resulting in the ratio of 0.14 is optimal for P25 coating due to the highest %wt Ti on film. N-doped TiO2 and 5% loading silica with TiO2 Film catalysts were coated on film, N-doped on …

Fabrication And Optimization Of Thin Film Composite Membrane Incorporated With Tio2 Nanoparticles To Enhance Anti-Fouling Property, Sasakorn Charoenyuenyao

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The polyamide thin-film composite (PA-TFC) membranes containing the titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) were developed to improve the membrane performances, especially the anti-fouling properties such as normalized flux and flux recovery. The selective thin-film layer was fabricated over polysulfone (PSf) through the interfacial polymerization (IP) of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl chloride (TMC) monomers. The response surface methodology (RSM) with Box-Behnken strategy was applied to find the optimal fabrication condition of TiO2, pH, ethyl alcohol in MPD solution that could obtain the best overall performances for the synthesized membranes. The result indicated that the addition of TiO2 NPs together with ethyl …

Influences Of Biofriendly Amino Acids On Methane Hydrate Formation For Natural Gas Storage And Transportation Application, Chuvich Chaovarin

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Solidified natural gas (SNG) is an appealing option for storing natural gas in the form of clathrate hydrates. However, it has some limitations, particularly the slow rate of hydrate formation and the requirement for severe operating conditions. To overcome these constraints, one approach is to introduce promoters into the system to enhance the hydrate formation rate. Amino acids have been reported as kinetic promoters with the potential to improve methane hydrate formation. In this work, the effect of three different side-chain amino acids (L-methionine, L-leucine, and L-valine) on methane hydrate formation and dissociation was investigated in terms of kinetics and …

Synthesis Of Zinc Sulfide Nanoparticles Using Microemulsion Generated By Hydrodynamic Cavitation Method, Nachapa Choojan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Zinc Sulfite (ZnS) nanoparticles have attracted attention of researchers as a promising material for semiconductor fabrication. Their optical properties are strongly size-dependent and related to production methodology. A microemulsion technique is simple and requires less energy to produce ZnS nanoparticles. However, this technique usually results in ZnS with a wide size distribution. In this work, microemulsion technique and hydrodynamic cavitation have been effectively combined for synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles with controllable and uniform size distribution. The microemulsion system which consists of water, cyclohexane, hexanol and Triton X-100 surfactant has been prepared by incorporating hydrodynamic cavitation. Experimental results number of passages, …