Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection Of Ethanol: A Side-By-Side Comparison Of Zno And Hkust-1 Mofs As Sensing Media, Papa K. Amoah, Zeinab Mohammed Hassan, Pengtao Lin, Engelbert Redel, Helmut Baumgart, Yaw S. Obeng

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The most common gas sensors are based on chemically induced changes in electrical resistivity and necessarily involve making imperfect electrical contacts to the sensing materials, which introduce errors into the measurements. We leverage thermal- and chemical-induced changes in microwave propagation characteristics (i.e., S-parameters) to compare ZnO and surface-anchored metal-organic-framework (HKUST-1 MOF) thin films as sensing materials for detecting ethanol vapor, a typical volatile organic compound (VOC), at low temperatures. We show that the microwave propagation technique can detect ethanol at relatively low temperatures (<100 >°C), and afford new mechanistic insights that are inaccessible with the traditional dc-resistance-based measurements. In addition, …

Immunomodulatory Functions Of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Are Enhanced When Cultured On Hep/Col Multilayers Supplemented With Interferon-Gamma, Mahsa Letter-Mahsa Haseli, David A. Castilla-Casadiego, Luis Carlos Pinzon-Herrera, Alexander Hillsley, Katherine A. Miranda-Munoz, Srikanth Sivaraman, Adrianne M. Rosales, Raj R. Rao, Jorge Almodovar

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) are multipotent cells that have been proposed for cell therapies due to their immunosuppressive capacity that can be enhanced in the presence of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). In this study, multilayers of heparin (HEP) and collagen (COL) (HEP/COL) were used as a bioactive surface to enhance the immunomodulatory activity of hMSCs using soluble IFN-γ. Multilayers were formed, via layer-by-layer assembly, varying the final layer between COL and HEP and supplemented with IFN-γ in the culture medium. We evaluated the viability, adhesion, real-time growth, differentiation, and immunomodulatory activity of hMSCs on (HEP/COL) multilayers. HMSCs viability, adhesion, and growth …

Waste Cooking Oil Management In Egypt: Production Of Biodiesel-Development Of Rapid Test Method, Marwa Mohamed, Nourhan Sherif, Omar Aboelazayem, Hany A. Elazab, Mamdouh Gadalla, Basudeb Saha

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

According to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) report in 2017, Egypt produced 500,000 tonnes of WCO from various resources including food industries, restaurants and hotels. Based on our previous funded project, we have reported unique properties for Egyptian WCO as it has very high range acidity (≈18 mg KOH/ g oil) due to the extensive usage of oil in the cooking process. Further, the repeated heating of cooking oil for long time produces carcinogenic compounds that have significant impact on people health. On the other hand, high acidity WCO could be valorised into soap, biodiesel and value …

Advanced Materials And Processes For Gas Separation And Storage Applications, Qasim Mohammed Al-Naddaf

Doctoral Dissertations

"Transition to a clean, renewable energy future requires departure from thermally driven separation processes. In that regard, development of new materials that exhibit high adsorption capacity and selectivity, fast kinetics, and long-term durability under multicomponent conditions is becoming attractive for the applications in clean energy. Moreover, novel sorbents and separation systems that can store gases at normal conditions offer a promising approach for stationary or onboard gas storage. Due to the limitations on the surface area and biding energy restrict commercial materials effectiveness as a potential adsorption and storage material. There is significant interest in the properties of hybrid materials …

Valuable Biodiesel Catalyst From Solvay Wastewater, Mai Hassan Roushdy, Rana Adel Bayoumi

Chemical Engineering

Biodiesel is considered a renewable, green fuel as it is derived from renewable living resources like animal fats or vegetable oils. This research is utilized to investigate the possibility of using Solvay wastewater as a source of biodiesel catalyst, which is CaO. CaCl2 from Solvay wastewater reacts with CO2 to produce CaCO3. CaCO3 is then heated to produce pure CaO. Waste cooking oil, wastewater, and CO2, which are considered dangerous materials to the environment, are used to produce valuable products. This research has environmental and economic benefit benefits of using waste materials as a replacement for raw materials. The selected …

Biodiesel Production From Castor Oil: Mixing Optimization During Transestrification, Islam M. Al-Akraa

Chemical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Hybrid Hydro-Pyrometallurgical Process For Zn Recovery From Electric Arc Furnace Dust, Rana Adel Bayoumi, Nabil Mahmoud Abdelmenem, Moustafa Aly Soliman, Ibrahim Mohamed Ismail, Ahmed Ahmed Refaat

Chemical Engineering

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) which is considered hazardous waste, contains significant amounts of Zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), and some dangerous elements. Zn exists in the dust as Zinc Oxide (ZnO) and Zinc Ferrite (ZnFe2O3) which is difficult to be leached with traditional methods. The main objective of the suggested process is to recover Zn from EAFD by using a hybrid pyro/hydrometallurgical method. This method includes mixing cement dust and EAFD and heating the mixture in a pyrometallurgical treatment step to convert ZnFe2O3 to ZnO. This step is followed by leaching the treated dust with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution using …

Biodiesel Production From Castor Oil: Mixing Optimization During Transesterification, Yaser M. Asal Mr, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Ahmad M. Mohammad, Hassan E. Hisham

Chemical Engineering

With the growing warning for accrediting the traditional combustion of fossil fuels for energy production, not only for their limited supply but also for their environmental risks (air pollution, climate change, …. etc), it became necessary to realize alternative greener and abundant sources for energy. Instead, the interest to sustain biodiesel for the energy production has recently been renewed as a replacement for petroleum diesel in conventional diesel engines. This was due to its renewable nature, low toxicity, high degradability and unique physical properties (high flash points & lubrication). Castor oil, in particular, appeared promising for biodiesel production with extremely …

Castor Oil Conversion To Biodiesel: A Process Simulation Study, Yaser M. Asal Mr, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Ahmad M. Mohammad, Razan Aymen

Chemical Engineering

The aim of this study is to highlights the importance to shift from the use of traditional fossil fuels to biodiesel as a clean energy source. A simulation study has been conducted using ASPEN HYSIS software for the biodiesel production form castor oil. The simulation was run and the properties of the produced biodiesel were highlighted. The optimum conditions resulted in 88 % conversion.

Reverse Cationic Flotation Of Hematite, Natalia Parra Alvarez

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The reverse cationic flotation of hematite is the most common method to process hematite ores. The goal of this research is to understand the impact of fundamental water and surface effects to enable the optimization of the flotation process. At present, reverse cationic flotation is performed using a single chemical as both collector and frother. Excessive amounts of frother or collector should lead to diminished performance. This research investigates this phenomenon by replacing some of the collector with frothers. It was found that flotation recovery can be improved up to 2.5wt% via 10% replacement with methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC). Since …

Towards A Circular Economy: Liquid-Fed Fast Pyrolysis Of Waste Polyolefin Plastics, Daniel G. Kulas

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Plastic usage has quickly grown in recent years as plastics have become an essential part of everyday life. Unfortunately, recycling rates have not matched the increased growth, with the majority of waste plastic landfilled. The strategy of circular economy has been proposed to reuse the waste plastic to create new polymers, thus avoiding both landfilling and the use of virgin raw materials. Achieving a circular economy for plastics requires the development of new technologies capable of recycling plastic waste under a circular economy perspective. In this dissertation, a novel liquid-fed fast pyrolysis process is introduced towards achieving a circular economy. …

Recovering And Upgrading Kraft Lignin For Application In Flexible Polyurethane Foam, Peng Quan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Lignin is the second abundant natural polymer and has been highlighted as a potential substitute for fossil-based raw materials. However, the inherent molecular heterogeneity and the complex recovery processes result in the challenge of controlling the molecular properties and value-added applications of lignin in large scale. To address those issues, a novel acid-liquefaction process was developed in this study to recover Kraft lignin with improved molecular homogeneity directly from black liquor.

In the first study, the liquefaction parameters were screened based on yield and molecular weight properties of the recovered lignin. Then, the recovered lignin samples were used to replace …

Understanding Strength Of Dried Iron Ore Pellets, Victor Claremboux

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

After an extensive literature review, it was found that there was no reliable way for predicting the impact of binders or mixtures of binders on iron ore pellets. This is a challenging problem because iron ore pellets are a complex product of an agglomeration process which is typically controlled only to the extent that is necessary to form a quality product for ironmaking. This work identifies the resistance of a dried pellet to abrasion as a prime variable to record and analyze to understand the influence of combined pellet binders. A consistent method of measuring abrasion resistance is identified and …

Numerical Simulation Study Of Gel Treatment For Conformance Control From Lab To Field, Jianqiao Leng

Doctoral Dissertations

“Gel treatment has been widely applied to control reservoir conformance and thus improve the sweep efficiency of injection fluids. Quite a few numerical simulations have been conducted to investigate the factors impacting gel treatment and assist to optimize treatment design and predict the performance. However, there exists significant barrier between the simulation approaches and lab experiments. In this study, two comprehensive reviews have been conducted to identify the gaps between lab and current simulations for in-situ polymer treatment and preformed particle gel treatment, separately.

Based on the identified gaps, the effect of a few major factors which are very important …

Development And Testing Of A New Air-Assisted Flare System For Low Flow Conditions, Hayder Alhameedi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Flare systems provide a safe, efficient, and reliable way to treat unwanted flammable gases that come from relief devices of various chemical processing equipment to ensure the safety of personnel and equipment. Flare systems are classified according to the assist media type as non-assisted (utility), steam-, air-, and pressure-assisted flares. The assist medium enhances mixing between flare gases and surrounding air and induces more air into the combustion zone. An air-assisted flare system is the preferred flare type in regions where steam is unavailable or is costly to supply or ambient temperatures are too low. The environmental protection agency (EPA) …

Surface Modification To Improve The Electrochemical Performance Of Cathode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries And Sodium-Ion Batteries, Han Yu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The specific capacity of active materials as well as their cycling stability are the main limiting factors for the performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIB). Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is considered as a promising surface modification method to enhance the electrochemical performance of active materials for LIBs and SIBs.

In this research, we are committed to using ALD to modify the cathode materials of LIB, by coating different films on the surface of different cathode materials and constructing a stable and favorable interface layer for lithium-ion transport, so that we can protect the active materials from the …

Engineering Ni/Al2o3 Catalysts By Atomic Layer Deposition For Methane Reforming, Baitang Jin

Doctoral Dissertations

"Dry reforming of methane (DRM) could be a promising choice to utilize natural gas (mainly methane or CH₄), recycle captured CO₂, and produce valuable syngas. Promoters (e.g., CeO₂ and MgO) on Ni/Al₂O₃ prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and ALD-prepared ultrathin overcoating (e.g., ZrO₂ and CeO_x) on Ni/Al₂O₃ prepared by incipient wetness method were investigated for methane reforming.

MgO and CeO₂ prepared by traditional incipient wetness method were used to promote the performance of ALD-prepared Ni nanoparticles (NPs) supported on four-channel α-Al₂O_{3 …}

Computational Fluid Dynamics Techniques For Multiphase Flow Systems, Jose Sebastian Uribe Lopez

Doctoral Dissertations

"Mathematical modelling of multiphase flow systems has been a major and persistent challenge over the last decades. Vast attempts to obtain predictive models can be found reported in literature, where major advances can be recognized in recent years, paired to enhancements in computer science and engineering. Notwithstanding, universally valid models with a mechanistic development are far from being achieved. The current status of modelling any multiphase flow system relies on the model order reduction of purely theoretical models. Such reductions and simplifications become the source of deviations in the predictions of the experimentally measured parameters and will constrain the applicability …

Evaluation Of Novel Preformed Particle Gels For Conformance Control And Acid Stimulation Through Core Flooding Tests, Shuda Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

"Acid stimulation and conformance control are two major methods to improve oil production. This study systematically evaluates two newly developed gels: Degradable Preformed Particle Gel (DPPG) and Re-crosslinkable Preformed Polymer Gel (RPPG). DPPG is designed to be a temporary plugging agent for acid stimulation and can self-degrade into a water-like fluid. RPPG is designed for reservoir sweep efficiency improvement and can re-crosslink to each other and form an immobile bulk gel after being placed in fractures or fracture-like conduits.

For DPPG, this study evaluates the effect of monomer, crosslinker, and initiator concentration on the swelling and degradation performance. Results show …

Optimization Of Blast Design For Better Fragmentation & Reduction Of Ground Vibration At Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite Mine, Saraburi Province, Thailand, Arif Khan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Control blasting with better fragmentation is very important to decrease the environmental impacts of blasting and the cost of downstream mining operations such as loading, transportation, crushing, and milling. Proper blasting designs with optimized parameters such as burden, spacing, stemming, sub-drilling, and amount of explosive ensure the required fragmentation with ground vibration within the standards set by different monitoring agencies. This study dealt with the blasting design parameters, fragmentation, and ground vibration at the Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite quarry Saraburi province, Thailand. First, grab samples were collected from the quarry's active benches and tested in a lab for strength, compositions …

Effect Of Salinity Contrast Between Formation Water And Injected Low Salinity Water On Low Salinty Water Flooding In Dolostone Formation, Nuttapol Junput

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low Salinity Waterflooding (LSWF) has gained substantial prominence in current scientific method for oil recovery improvement, owing to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique. Various studies have highlighted the crucial role of injected brine salinity and the concentration of Potential Determining Ions (PDI) in stimulate oil recovery mechanisms. However, the majority of these studies have predominantly concentrated on sandstone reservoirs. In light of the fact that over 50% of hydrocarbon reserves are situated in carbonate reservoirs, this research focuses specifically on dolomite reservoirs to examine the applicability and feasibility of implementing LSWF in …

Physical Property Measurement Of Surfactant Coupled With Nanoparticles For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Phoo Pwint Nandar

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The residual oil remained in the reservoir after the primary recovery and water flooding can either be produced by increasing the mobility of the oil or by altering the reservoir rock wetting behavior and diminishing the oil water interfacial tension. The surfactant flooding is one of the chemical enhanced oil recovery methods. At the optimal concentration, the surfactant flooding can provide the low interfacial tension favoring to the enhanced oil recovery. In contrast, the loss of the surfactant at the solid-liquid interface due to an adsorption lessens the amount of the surfactant required for oil displacement during the flooding. Therefore, …

The Study Of Oxygenated Compounds For Oil Fingerprinting Application, Khairunisa Betariani

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Oil spills have a large impact on the marine and coastal environments. The characterization of petroleum or its products spilled in the environment to its source rocks is an important tool to assist in the resolution of issues of environmental impact and legal responsibility. The composition and physical properties of spilled oils have changed during the weathering process. Petroleum biomarkers is a tool for defining the origin of each oil, which is unique for each type of oil. In general, petroleum biomarkers (i.e., hopane group) are widely used for oil fingerprinting by following the NORDTEST methodology. Besides the hopane group, …

Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation Of Nitrobenzene On High Entropy Materials (Hems), Victor Manuel Marquez Espinoza

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Global warming and environmental pollution are two of the major challenges currently in the spotlight of the research community. Nitrobenzene electrocatalytic hydrogenation could simultaneously tackle two problems. In the first place, as an option to replace the resource-inefficient and non-environmentally friendly processes for aniline production used nowadays. Also, as a viable and applicable process to enhance the degradation efficiency for wastewater treatment rising technologies, using nitrobenzene as a model pollutant. Herein, We present a comprehensive study of the nitrobenzene catalytic hydrogenation using high entropy materials (HEMs) as electrode materials. Different synthesis methods were used to produce high entropy alloys (HEAs) …

Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Production By Transesterification Of Refined Palm Oil With Methanol Catalysed By Anion-Exchange Resin With Tetrahydrofuran As A Co-Solvent, Zargul Ammara

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Alkaline anion exchange resins, specifically dense AmberLiteTM IRA402 and porous AmberLystTM A26, are used to study the transesterification of palm oil and methanol. A common industrial process for creating biodiesel or green solvents is transesterification. While homogeneous catalysts like sodium methoxide and sodium hydroxide are used in most transesterification facilities, heterogeneous catalysts have the benefit of being simpler to separate from the finished product. The goal of this study was to better understand how palm oil and methanol combine to produce fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), a prevalent kind of biodiesel. Previous studies mainly investigated the production of fatty acid …

Performance Study Of K2co3/Al2o3 Prepared Using Different Alkali Solution In Carbon Dioxide Capture And Adsorbent Regeneration, Tanawat Kitpattanasin

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In this study, potassium carbonate supported on gamma alumina (K2CO3/γ-Al2O3) was investigated as a CO2 sorbent due to its expected high surface area, low energy consumption in regeneration, and non-toxicity. Different types of alkali solutions were used to modify the physical properties of the adsorbent including morphology, BET surface area, pore volume, and pore size. Preparation of the adsorbent was carried out via the impregnation method in which K2CO3 and γ-Al2O3 were added to an alkali solution. CO2 adsorption-desorption was carried out in a fixed bed reactor with a temperature swing process (35-250 °C). The reactor was fed with 12% …

Photocatalytic Selective Hydrogenation Of Furfural To Furfuryl Alcohol On Graphene Modified Tio2 Catalysts, Supphanat Richaroenkij

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Furfural is a furan derived from biomass, which can be converted to high-value chemical products which are useful for many industrial applications such as fuel additives, drugs, and polymer resin. In this research, photocatalytic selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol was investigated in different phases of TiO2 including anatase, rutile, and P25 (mixed anatase/rutile phase) and graphene-modified TiO2 catalysts. The graphene-modified TiO2 was prepared by physical mixing method with graphene contents of 5-15wt%. The catalyst properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), N2-physisorption, transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The …

Modification Of Γ-Al2o3-Supported Ni Catalysts By Wo3 Addition For Co2 Reforming Of Methane, Visansya Malaimat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Carbon dioxide reforming or dry reforming of methane (DRM) is not a mature process in the industry despite the economic benefits. The main obstacle preventing the commercialization of these reactions is carbon deposition caused by side reactions. This work investigates the improvement of the Ni/ γ-Al2O3 catalyst's stability and resistance to carbon deposition by WO3 addition. The effect of WO3 loadings amount, varying among 0.5 -13 wt% was investigated. The catalyst was prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method using the feed gas mixture at a CH4:CO2 ratio of 1:1 at 700 oC for 3 hours. The addition of WO3 …

Effect Of The Second Promoter On Pt/Wox/Al2o3 Catalyst Deactivation For The Selective Glycerol Hydrogenolysis To 1,3-Propanediol, Sittichai Damruang

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The selective glycerol hydrogenolysis is a good promising reaction to produce 1,3-propanediol. The Pt-WOx bifunctional catalyst is extensively interested, but the catalyst deactivation via sintering, metal leaching, and coking can predominantly occur in the aqueous phase reaction. In this research, the effect of reaction temperature and pressure was investigated. The role of the second promoter on Pt/WOx/Al2O3 catalyst was studied, including Cu, Fe, Rh, Mn, Re, Ru, Ir, Sn, B, and P, to improve synergy between Pt, WOx, and Al2O3. The physicochemical properties and the interaction of Pt with Al2O3 were investigated as well. The second promoter improves the catalytic …

Enhancement Of Catalytic Stability Of Fe2o3/Sio2 Catalyst Prepared By The Sol-Gel Method For Selective Oxidation Of H2s To Sulfur., Athitaya Promtongkaew

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The H2S selective oxidation is the most attractive process for converting H2S to elemental sulfur, but the industrial problem of this process is the catalytic stability. In this work, two different synthesis methods (sol-gel (SG) compared with incipient wetness impregnation (IWI) as a widely used method) were used to synthesize iron oxide supported on silica catalysts (Fe2O3/SiO2) with metal loadings ranging from 0.5 to 10 %wt. The catalysts were tested for the selective oxidation of H2S, changing the operating conditions like temperature (170 – 250 °C), O2/H2S (0.5 – 2.5) and water content (0 – 50 %). A detailed characterization …