Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Ambient Ammonia Synthesis Via Microwave-Catalytic Materials And Plasma Chemistry, Siobhan Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ammonia is critical to supporting human life on earth because of its use as fertilizer. The Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia has been practiced for over 100 years. This process operates at high pressure and temperature to overcome the thermodynamic and kinetic limitations of the ammonia synthesis reaction thus researchers have tried to overcome it for decades. At present this process represents 1% of global energy usage and 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. The proposed chemical looping ammonia synthesis approach seeks to reduce the environmental impact of this critical process and to elucidate microwave-catalytic principles.

This research aims to …

Dynamic Modeling, Data Reconciliation, Parameter Estimation, And Health Monitoring Of A Supercritical Power Plant, Katherine Grace Hedrick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the introduction of a larger portion of renewable sources of power coming onto the U.S. power grid in recent decades, the operational strategy of coal-fired power plants has changed significantly to focus more on flexibility in response to the changing energy market. This has naturally led to different operational challenges. Many of these challenges are focused on the boilers within these plants, as they are producing more emissions and experiencing increased damage during load-following, which in turn leads to increased costs from penalties for not achieving emission standards or maintenance costs as boilers accumulate damage from the cycling behavior. …

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis And Control Of Chemical Processes Using Dynamic Operability, San Quan Dinh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nonlinear dynamic analysis serves an increasingly important role in process systems engineering research. Understanding the nonlinear dynamics from the mathematical model of a process helps to find the boundaries of all achievable process conditions and identify the system instabilities. The information on such boundaries is beneficial for optimizing the design and formulating a control structure. However, a systematic approach to analyzing nonlinear dynamics of chemical processes considering such boundaries in a quantifiable and adaptable way is yet to exist in the literature. The primary aim of this work is to formulate theoretical concepts for dynamic operability, as well as develop …

Evaluating Electrification Of Fossil Fuel-Fired Boilers For Decarbonization Using Discrete Event Simulation, Nahian Ismail Chowdhury

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Decarbonizing fossil fuel usage is crucial in mitigating the impacts of climate change. CO2, which comprises the major portion of greenhouse gas, is emitted from burning fossil fuels. One of the significant sources of fossil fuel user is industrial process heating, and most of the heating in industrial processes is achieved through boilers. Electrification is a promising solution for decarbonizing these boilers, as it enables renewable energy sources to generate electricity, which can then be used to power the electric boilers. The electrification of boilers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and increase energy efficiency. However, it requires …

Beeswax Wraps As An Alternative To Single-Use Plastics, Sarah Skiver

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project goal was to compare the food storage efficacy of sustainable beeswax wraps verses the single-use plastic methods of resealable plastic sandwich bags and plastic cling wrap. The goal was also to test the reusability of the beeswax wraps, as it is a key advantage of beeswax wraps that is advertised. The project purpose was to explore sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to single use plastics, which are harmful to the environment in both their production and their disposal. Food spoilage was compared in beeswax wrap, plastic sandwich bags, and plastic cling wrap, and spoilage was also observed in a …

Teflon Replacement In Pans, Teodora Neamtu

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of the project is to determine an optimal prepping method of common cooking oils for pans that will be as effective as Teflon non-stick pans. The reason for this is to replace Teflon coating in pans, which can be very toxic for humans and the environment. Teflon has been a common coating for non-stick surfaces that is useful when cooking things such as eggs. To determine an optimal cooking method, three different oils were used: olive oil, vegetable oil, and shortening. The oils were tested on an aluminum pan by cooking egg whites at various temperatures, cooking times, …

Studies On Non-Transition Metal Substitution To Ab2 Metal Hydride Alloys For Battery Application, Shiuan Chang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Nowadays, multiphase transition metal-based AB2 metal hydride alloys and the rare-earth metal-based AB5 alloys (currently used in consumer NiMH batteries) are used as negative electrodes in NiMH batteries. It is of great interest to explore the possibility of significantly improving NiMH battery performance to compete with Li-ion batteries. In this area, the effect of dopant elements from Group-IA, -IIA, -IIIA non-transition metal family has not been thoroughly studied. In this study, lithium, magnesium, and boron (a metalloid considered metal in this study) were chosen as modifiers in the C14-phase predominant AB2 alloy by different dopant concentrations and synthesis methods, doping …

Optical Diagnostics Of Hydrocarbon Fuel Autoignition Using The Corrected Filtered Natural Emission Of Species Technique, Maysam Molana

Wayne State University Dissertations

The gas temperature and concentration of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide of a hydrocarbon fuel mixture were measured using a rapid compression machine by applying a modern optical diagnostics methodology called the corrected filtered natural emission of species (C-FNES) technique. This technique uses a correction factor that includes all of the experimental and simulation errors and uncertainties into the measurements. To ensure the robustness of the proposed technique, the effect of temperature and pressure on the measured data was investigated extensively. To this end, a pentane inert mixture was tested in a wide range of operation conditions: six compressed gas …

Oil Recovery Performance And Asphaltene Deposition Evaluation Of Miscible And Immiscible Carbon Dioxide Or Nitrogen Huff-N-Puff Processes In Shale Reservoirs, Mukhtar Elturki, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Shari Dunn-Norman, Hasan Shaglouf, Ahmed Kablan

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The utilization of gas enhanced oil recovery to extract oil from unconventional reservoirs has become a widely discussed topic, as it has proven to be effective in significantly boosting oil recovery rates. Among various enhanced oil recovery methods, Gas Enhanced Oil Recovery (GEOR) is a frequently implemented approach. However, a significant challenge encountered during the process of injecting Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) or Nitrogen (N₂) to displace oil is the occurrence of asphaltene precipitation and deposition, which can impede production. This work is an experimental study to examine the effects of cyclic (huff-n-puff) CO₂ or N …

The Success Story Of First Ever Polymer Flood Field Pilot To Enhance The Recovery Of Heavy Oils On Alaska's North Slope, Abhijit Dandekar, Baojun Bai, John Barnes, Dave Cercone, Reid Edwards, Samson Ning, Randy Seright, Brent Sheets, Dongmei Wang, Yin Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The primary goal of the first ever polymer flood field pilot at Milne Point is to validate the use of polymers for heavy oil Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) on Alaska North Slope (ANS). The specific objectives are systematic evaluation of advanced technology that integrates polymer flooding, low salinity water flooding, horizontal wells, and numerical simulation based on polymer flood performance data. Accordingly, under the co-sponsorship of the US Department of Energy and Hilcorp Alaska LLC the first ever polymer field pilot commenced on August 28, 2018 in the Schrader Bluff heavy oil reservoir at the Milne Point Unit (MPU) on …

Descriptive Systematics Of Upper Palaeocene–Lower Eocene Pollen And Spores From The Northern Niger Delta, South-Eastern Nigeria, Luke Mander, Carlos Jaramillo, Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fossil pollen and spores are a vital source of information on the geological history of tropical vegetation including reconstructions of vegetation diversity and composition. However, such work relies on a sound taxonomic framework, and this is challenging to achieve because of the large number of pollen and spore morphotypes that are encountered in palynological preparations from tropical sediments. In tropical West Africa, for example, extensive taxonomic work on Cretaceous–Paleogene pollen and spores was undertaken in the later part of the twentieth century, but more recent palynological work has focused on stratigraphy and basin evolution, and there is a need for …

Experimental Study: Investigating The Anions And Cations' Effects On The Elasticity Of The Anionic And Cationic High Viscosity Friction Reducers, Xiaojing Ge, Ghith Biheri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai, Yuwei Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) are widely used as friction-reducing agents and proppant carriers during hydraulic fracturing. The reuse of produced water has gained popularity due to environmental and economic benefits. Currently, the field's most commonly used friction reducers are anionic and cationic HVFRs. Anionic HVFRs are typically pumped with freshwater, while cationic HVFRs are used with high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) produced water. Cationic friction reducers are believed to have better TDS tolerance, friction reduction performance, and proppant transport capabilities compared to anionic friction reducers under high TDS conditions due to their superior viscoelastic properties. In addition, the impact …

Kinetic Experimental And Modeling Evaluations Of Asphaltene Morphology And Growth Rate Under Varying Temperature And Brine Conditions, Kwamena Ato Quainoo, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Cornelius Borecho Bavoh

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The utilization of predictive mechanisms to resolve asphaltene precipitation during oil production is a cleaner and less expensive means than the mechanical/chemical remediation techniques currently employed. Existing models lack predictive success due to opposing views on temperature-asphaltene precipitation interactions. In this study, the effect of varying temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70 80 and 90 °C) and brine concentrations (0 – 5 wt.%) on the long-time kinetics of asphaltene precipitations was evaluated. A series of experiments were conducted using the filtration technique and the confocal microscopy to study asphaltene precipitation on a model oil system consisting of asphaltenes, a precipitant, and …

Risk As A Process: A History Informed Hazard Planning Approach Applied To The 2018 Post-Fire Debris Flows, Montecito, California, Anna Serra-Llobet, John Radke, G. Mathias Kondolf, Larry Gurrola, J. David Rogers, Sarah Lindbergh, Johnny Douvinet

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Historical information about floods is not commonly used in the US to inform land use planning decisions. Rather, the current approach to managing floods is based on static maps derived from computer simulations of the area inundated by floods of specified return intervals. These maps provide some information about flood hazard, but they do not reflect the underlying processes involved in creating a flood disaster, which typically include increased exposure due to building on flood-prone land, nor do they account for the greater hazard resulting from wildfire. We developed and applied an approach to analyze how exposure has evolved in …

Magnetic Inversion Approach For Modeling Data Acquired Across Faults: Various Environmental Cases Studies, Khalid S. Essa, Eid R. Abo-Ezz, Neil Lennart Anderson, Omar A. Gomaa, Mahmoud Elhussein

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An effective extension to the particle swarm optimizer scheme has been developed to visualize and modelize robustly magnetic data acquired across vertical or dipping faults. This method can be applied to magnetic data sets that support various investigations, including mining, fault hazards assessment, and hydrocarbon exploration. The inversion algorithm is established depending on the second horizontal derivative technique and the particle swarm optimizer algorithm and was utilized for multi-source models. Herein, the inversion method is applied to three synthetic models (a dipping fault model contaminated without and with different Gaussian noises levels, a dipping fault model affected by regional anomaly, …

Impact Of Hvfr Loading Concentrations On Its Viscoelastic Properties And Proppant Transport Performance, Ghith Biheri, Shari Dunn Norman, Abdulmohsin Imqam

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In unconventional reservoirs, increasing the low formation conductivities through hydraulic fracturing may substantially increase oil production from wells. This work of improving the fracture conductivity could be conducted by distributing and transporting proppant within the fracture lengths using high fracture fluid concentrations. This research focused on three areas. First, it assessed the fluid rheology including the viscosity and elasticity of a high viscosity friction reducer (HVFR) and linear guar using deionized (DI) water at different fluid concentrations (i.e., 2, 4, and 8 gpt for the HVFR and 15, 25, and 35 ppt for linear guar), and measured the impact of …

Comparative Study Of Proppant Transport In The Vertical Fracture For High Viscosity Friction Reducers And Slickwater Fracturing With High-Tds Marcellus Shale Formation Water, Xiaojing Ge, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) have been gaining more attention and increasing in use as proppant carriers. Reusing of produced water has also been driven by both environmental and economic benefits. However, high total dissolved solids (TDS) of produced water and high reservoir temperature significantly decrease the viscoelastic properties of HVFRs even for the cationic ones, which further reduce their proppant transport capabilities. Increasing loadings of HVFRs also has very limited effects on improving their proppant transport performances under high-TDS and high-Temperature conditions. The ultimate objective of this experimental study is to investigate the injection rate effects on the proppant …

Study Of Legionella Pneumophila Treatment With Copper In Drinking Water By Single Cell-Icp-Ms, Lei Xu, Austin Sigler, Anna Chernatynskaya, Lindsey Rasmussen, Jingrang Lu, Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie, David J. Westenberg, Hu Yang, Honglan Shi

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Legionella pneumophila is a persistent opportunistic pathogen that poses a significant threat to domestic water systems. Previous studies suggest that copper (Cu) is an effective antimicrobial in water systems. A rapid and sensitive quantification method is desired to optimize the conditions of L. pneumophila treatment by Cu and to better understand the interaction mechanisms between Cu and cells. In this study, we developed a highly sensitive single cell (SC)-ICP-MS method to monitor L. pneumophila cell concentration and track their uptake of Cu. The SC-ICP-MS method showed excellent sensitivity (with a cell concentration detection limit of 1000 cells/mL), accuracy (good agreement …

Influence Of Interfering Ions And Adsorption Temperature On Radioactive Iodine Removal Efficiency And Stability Of Ni-Mof-74 And Zr-Uio-66, Turki Alghamdi, Peter O. Aina, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) often exhibit an exceptional adsorption-based separation performance for a variety of gases, ions, and liquids. While most radioactive iodine removal studies focus on the capture of radioactive iodine from off-gas streams, few studies have systematically investigated the effect of structure-property relationships of MOFs on iodine removal performance in the presence of interfering ions in liquid solutions. Herein, we investigated the iodide ion (I^-) adsorption performance of two model MOFs (e.g., Ni-MOF-74 and Zr-UiO-66) in liquid phase as a function of iodine concentration (e.g., 0.125 to 0.25 and 0.50 mmol/L) and adsorption temperature (e.g., 25 to …

A Comprehensive Review Of The Influence Of Heat Exchange Tubes On Hydrodynamic, Heat, And Mass Transfer In Bubble And Slurry Bubble Columns, Dalia S. Makki, Hasan Sh Majdi, Amer A. Abdulrahman, Abbas J. Sultan, Zahraa W. Hasan, Laith S. Sabri, Bashar J. Kadhim, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bubble and slurry bubble column reactors (BCRs/SBCRs) are used for various chemical, biochemical, and petrochemical applications. They have several operational and maintenance advantages, including excellent heat and mass transfer rates, simplicity, and low operating and maintenance cost. Typically, a catalyst is present in addition to biochemical processes where microorganisms are used to produce industrially valuable bio-products. Since most applications involve complicated gas-liquid, gas-liquid-solid, and exothermic processes, the BCR/SBCR must be equipped with heat-exchanging tubes to dissipate heat and control the reactor's overall performance. In this review, past and very recent experimental and numerical investigations on such systems are critically discussed. …

Simulation And Optimization Of Waste Heat To Electricity Through Organic Rankine Cycles (Orcs): A Case Study In An Oil Refinery, Mohamed A. Sadek, Mamdouh A. Gadalla, Noran Shedid, Dina Ahmed, Hany A. Elazab

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Energy efficiency has become a global problem that is detrimental to the chemical industries technically, economically and to the environment. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a promising technology that can solve this problem by recovering heat from low-grade waste heat sources by using organic working fluids. The heat source for the ORC system used in this article is air leaving air coolers in an oil refinery with a temperature of 140o C. The heat exchanger data for this refinery was used in the simulation of a basic cycle and a regenerative cycle using ASPEN HYSYS V.10. These ORC systems were …

Demonstration Of High Detoxification Efficiency Of Glassy Polymer-Metal Hydroxide Composites Toward Chemical Warfare Agent Simulants, Peter O. Aina, Sukanta K. Mondal, Joshua Costain, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The design and development of polymeric composites that can effectively capture and destruct toxic chemicals with a fast detoxification rate is of high importance for protecting the military, first responders, and civilians. Here we report the synthesis and assessment of zirconium hydroxide (Zr (OH)4)-incorporated Ultem, Matrimid, and PIM-1 composites for detoxification of dimethyl 4-nitrophenylphosphonate (DMNP), as a type G toxic nerve agent simulant. Maintaining homogeneity, three different loadings (8, 20, 30 wt %) of Zr (OH)4 were incorporated into the polymers, and the thin films of composite materials were developed for subsequent hydrolysis tests. Our results indicated that increasing the …

Hydrothermal Stability Of Na-Lta Shaped With Clay Binder, Jimmy D.L. Moreno, Daniele Da S. Pereira, Thalita M. Azevedo, Dárley C. De Melo, Debora A.S. Maia, Fateme Rezaei, Moisés Bastos-Neto, Diana C.S. De Azevedo

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gas drying by adsorption on molecular sieves is one of the first unit operations in natural gas processing. Nevertheless, the thermal swings during regeneration combined with the presence of a complex gas mixture may lead to early adsorbent fouling. The shaping of adsorbent materials is crucial not only to reduce pressure drop in columns, but also for enhanced thermal and mechanical properties. In this work, synthesized sodium-based zeolite Linde Type A (Na-LTA) in powder was shaped by extrusion into cylindrical pellets using a clay binder followed by calcination at 673 K for 24 h. The produced 2-mm pellets had binder …

Effect Of Alkali Metal Functionalization On Hydrogen Storage Performance Of Highly Porous Activated Carbons, Ruthradharshini Murugavel, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With increasing energy demand and fast-paced decarbonization methods adopted to curb the adverse effects of greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen (H2) is considered a sustainable, clean, and potential renewable energy carrier for the future. To substitute the energy needs required for the physical methods of H2 storage, adsorbed gas storage (AGS) is the next viable option that provides the opportunity to adsorb and desorb gases under mild conditions. In this work, we studied the effect of light alkali metal functionalization comprising Li and K on the H2 storage performance of porous graphitic carbon adsorbents. The effect of metal doping on the …

Effect Of Eggshell Powder And Nano-Hydroxyapatite On The Surface Roughness And Microhardness Of Bleached Enamel, Shahinaz Hassan, Lamiaa Moharam

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the remineralizing potential of prepared solutions of eggshell powder (ESP) and nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) on the surface roughness and microhardness of bleached enamel. Materials and Methods: Fifty bovine anterior teeth were selected and cleaned then bleached using a chemically activated in-office bleaching agent then the teeth were randomly allocated into five groups (n = 10) according to the tested remineralizing agents (10% ESP solution, 10% nHA solution, and MI Paste Plus) into; control, bleached, bleached + ESP solution, bleached + nHA solution, and bleached + MI Paste Plus groups. Then, the teeth …

Assessment Of The Dimensionless Groups-Based Scale-Up Of Gas–Solid Fluidized Beds, Faraj M. Zaid, Haider Al-Rubaye, Thaar M. Aljuwaya, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The most common scale-up approach for gas–solids fluidized beds is based on matching the governing dimensionless parameters. In the literature, this approach has been validated only by means of measuring global parameters between different sizes of fluidized beds. However, such global measurements are not sufficient to depict all the interplaying hydrodynamic phenomena and hence verify the scale-up relationships. Therefore, to assess this approach, an advanced gas–solids optical probe and pressure transducer measurement techniques have been applied to quantify local hydrodynamic parameters in two different sized fluidized beds. Four different sets of experimental conditions were designed and conducted to examine the …

Review Of The Fluid Dynamics And Heat Transport Phenomena In Packed Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactors, Rahman S. Almusafir, Ahmed A. Jasim, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Knowledge and proper safety analyses of the gas coolant and heat transport mechanism in the dynamic core of packed pebble bed nuclear reactors pose challenges to the reliable design and efficient operation of these reactors. Therefore, this paper carefully reviews most of the gas coolant mixing and heat transport studies performed for the fluid flow and heat transfer processes in packed pebble bed reactors (PBRs). It begins with a brief introduction and description of nuclear PBRs. The second section summarizes the physical characteristics of packed bed reactors in terms of the bed structure (porosity) and its radial and axial distributions. …

Development And Assessment Of Magnetic Fe2o3@Mof-74 Composite Sorbents For Ethylene/Ethane Separation, Khaled Baamran, Kyle Newport, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Development of smart sorbents that can be regenerated when triggered by external stimuli such as magnetic field can overcome the poor energy utilization of the current sorbents investigated for light olefins/paraffins separation. In this work, we report the development of novel magnetic sorbents comprising of MOF-74 crystals and superparamagnetic Fe₂O₃ particles in a core–shell structure, and assessment of their C₂H₄/C₂H₆ separation performance. The electromagnetic properties of the materials were tuned by varying the Fe₂O₃ (Fe_x) loading (x = 1–20 wt%), and their effects on adsorption …

Techno-Economic And Life Cycle Analyses For A Supercritical Biodiesel Production Process From Waste Cooking Oil For A Plant Located In The Midwest United States, Prashant Nagapurkar, Joseph D. Smith

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Existing Literature Lacks Detailed Techno-Economic and Environmental Life Cycle Analyses (TEA-LCA) Focused on Supercritical Biodiesel Production Pathways Produced Via Waste Products. Therefore, in This Work, the TEA-LCA Was Conducted to Generate Supercritical Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil for Plants Located in the Midwest Region of USA Having Annual Production Capacities of 10,600 and 128,000 T using Aspen Plus and GREET Software. Two Plant Production Capacities Were Chosen to Capture the Economies of Scale Impact on Biodiesel Manufacture Cost. in the Supercritical Process, Methanol and Propane Were Used as a Cosolvent to Synthesize Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) at 280 …

Level And Temperature Controlled Vessel, Cameron Macesich

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Using two Arduino microcontrollers, level and temperature Proportional-Integral control systems for a continuously stirred tank reactor were designed and configured. Open-loop step tests were performed and fitted with First Order Plus Time Delay responses so that controller tuning parameters could be analytically derived. The effectiveness of the designed systems was evaluated by monitoring the response of closed-loop setpoint changes.