Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Investigations Of A Surrogate Fuel Based On Fischer-Tropsch Gtl And Ctl In Cvcc, Idi And Di Compression Ignition Engines, Amanda C. Weaver

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

With the increase in availability, feedstocks, and properties of alternative fuels, compatibility issues emerge between current engine platforms often requiring a limit on the blend percentage of alternative fuel in conventional fuel or alteration to the engine platform. Two key metrics were identified, autoignition quality and lubrication characteristics, as vital for the proper function of a compression ignition engine, and if the blend of alternative fuels matches these two criteria for the diesel standard, then the resulting blend percentage can be considered as a viable alternative for complete replacement of conventional petroleum ULSD. Autoignition quality was matched using blends S-8, …

Prediction Of Single Proppant Terminal Settling Velocity In High Viscosity Friction Reducers By Using Artificial Neural Networks And Xgboost, Xiaojing Ge, Rong Lu, Ghith Biheri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) have been recently gaining more attention and increasing in use, not only as friction-reducing agents but also as proppant carriers. The settling velocity of the proppant is one of the key outputs to describe their proppant transport capability. However, it is influenced by many factors such as fluid properties, proppant properties, and fracture properties. Many empirical/physics-based models and correlations to predict particle settling velocity have been developed. However, they are usually based on certain assumptions and have applicable limits. In contrast, machine learning models can be considered as a black box. The objective of this …

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 …

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 …

Transport And Plugging Performance Evaluation Of A Novel Re-Crosslinkable Microgel Used For Conformance Control In Mature Oilfields With Super-Permeable Channels, Adel Alotibi, T. Song, Baojun Bai, Thomas P. Schuman

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Preformed particle gels (PPG) have been widely applied in oilfields to control excessive water production. However, PPG has limited success in treating opening features because the particles can be flushed readily during post-water flooding. We have developed a novel micro-sized Re-crosslinkable PPG (micro-RPPG) to solve the problem. The microgel can re-crosslink to form a bulk gel, avoiding being washed out easily. This paper evaluates the novel microgels' transport and plugging performance through super-permeable channels. Micro-RPPG was synthesized and evaluated for this study. Its storage moduli after fully swelling are approximately 82 Pa. The microgel characterization, self-healing process, transportation behavior, and …

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 …

Evaluating The Impact Of Increased Cycling On Thermal Power Plants Due To Wind Energy Penetration In The Midwest: A Case Study, Joscelyne Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most significant shifts in the mix of U.S. electricity generation over the past few years has been the rapid expansion of renewable energy resources, especially solar and wind. However, fossil fuels are still necessary to fulfill the world’s energy requirements. Despite efforts to increase the use of renewable energy sources, these sources can be at times unreliable, causing countries around the world to continue to rely on base load units such as coal and natural gas. This decrease in fossil fuels and increase in renewable energy sources presents many complex issues in terms of power system planning, …

Techno-Economic Analysis And Optimization Of Hydrogen And Mechanical Energy Storage Systems, Pavitra Senthamilselvan Sengalani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The increasing significance of renewable energy sources is thrusting the load cycling of fossil-fueled power plants (FFPP), designed to operate under nominal-load conditions. Integration of energy storage systems (ESS) with the FFPPs such as hydrogen energy storage (HES) and mechanical energy storage facility such as compressed air energy storage (CAES) shows the potential to minimize the levelized cost of electricity during high demand scenarios and also minimize the negative impacts of off-design FFPP operation. The deployment of energy storage facilities at the FFPP level have considerable potential advantages as they can be exploited within the existing equipment items and facilities …

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 …

Optimal Design And Operation Of Integrated Hydrogen Generation And Utilization Plants, Ijiwole Solomon Ijiyinka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There are considerable efforts worldwide for reducing the use of fossil fuel for energy production. While renewable energy sources are being increasingly used, fossil fuel still contribute about 80% of the energy used worldwide. As a result, the level of CO₂ is still increasing fast in the atmosphere currently exceeding about 410 parts per million (ppm). For reducing CO₂ build up in the atmosphere, various approaches are being investigated. For the electric power generation sector, two key approaches are post-combustion CO₂ capture and use of hydrogen as a fuel for power generation. These two solutions can also …

Combustion Characteristics Of Methane, Ethane, Propane, And Butane Blends Under Conditions Relevant Of A Dual-Fuel Diesel And Natural Gas Engine, Christopher Joseph Ulishney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As natural gas production infrastructure is already in place in most of the world and will continue expanding for the foreseeable future, natural gas is an alternative to traditional liquid petroleum fuels in heavy-duty engines. Dedicated natural gas or dual-fuel diesel-natural gas heavy-duty engines are alternatives to diesel-only power generation equipment. One challenge is the large variation in the natural gas composition available for such applications, which is known to significantly affect engine’s combustion characteristics and the emissions composition. As the literature on dual-fuel combustion under low load engine operating conditions that use more realistic natural gas mixtures (i.e., mixtures …

Modeling And Simulation Of A Process That Converts Ethane To Ethylene And Ethylene To Low Density Polyethylene, Ernest Bosire Mokaya

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ethylene is a critical feedstock and a major building block in the petrochemical industry that is used in synthesizing important products like polyethylene, ethanol, ethylene oxide, ethylene dichloride and ethylbenzene. With increasing demand of plastics, production of ethylene and subsequently polyethylene has increased globally. This thesis conducts the modeling and simulation of an integrated process that utilizes ethane as the primary feedstock to produce ethylene and the subsequent polymerization of ethylene to low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The process combines two different processes into one integrated process: (1) conversion of ethane to ethylene and (2) conversion of ethylene to LDPE. First, a …

Applying Thermal And Microwave Heating For Natural Gas Conversion To Value-Added Chemicals Over Zeolite-Supported Catalysts, Ashley Marie Caiola

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The world’s demand for natural gas has been consistently growing over the past few decades. Natural gas is considered a potential alternative to oil and coal because of its ability to burn cleaner. Although not completely emission-free, it has dominated the energy industry by providing a continuous supply of cheap fuel. Currently, natural gas makes up 41% of North American energy production. The conversion of natural gas to value-added chemicals typically involves the indirect production of synthesis gas (syngas) as an intermediate before the production of the desired product. Steam reforming and partial oxidation are two of the most common …

Synthesis Of Quasi-Freestanding Graphene Films Using Radical Species Formed In Cold Plasmas, Michael A. Mathews Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For over a decade, the Stinespring laboratory has investigated scalable, plasma assisted synthesis (PAS) methods for the growth of graphene films on silicon carbide (SiC). These typically utilized CF₄-based inductively coupled plasma (ICP) with reactive ion etching (RIE) to selectively etch silicon from the SiC lattice. This yielded a halogenated carbon-rich surface layer which was then annealed to produce the graphene layers. The thickness of the films was controlled by the plasma parameters, and overall, the process was readily scalable to the diameter of the SiC wafer.

The PAS process reproducibly yielded two- to three-layer thick graphene films …

Microwave-Assisted Ammonia Synthesis Over Cs-Ru/Ceo2 Catalyst, Alazar Kesete Araia

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ammonia synthesis is one of the greatest innovations of the 20^th century with extensive applications from fertilizers to intermediates for nitrogen-containing chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Annually, more than 242 million tons of ammonia is produced globally, supporting approximately 27% of the world’s population. One of the fast-growing applications for ammonia is as H₂ energy carrier due to its high energy storage capacity, considered to be a decarbonized energy source. The low volumetric energy density and incompressibility makes Hydrogen a non-preferable energy carrier; an alternative carrier becomes a requirement. Ammonia possesses unique property as an energy-dense carrier to store and …

The Effect Of Different Fracturing Fluids On The Productivity Of Multi-Staged Fractured Marcellus Shale Horizontal Wells, Vida Gyaubea Matey-Korley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

While hydraulic fracturing has undeniably improved the production from oil and gas reservoirs, this technology is not without limitations. The primary hurdles lie in the areas of proppant transport, fluid rheology, and stress management. Despite the extensive research conducted in this domain, there remains a considerable amount of work to be done for comprehensive solutions that account for the complex interactions among fracturing fluid, proppant distribution, and geomechanical conditions. Achieving this will then make room for a holistic and efficient hydraulic fracturing strategy.

This study addresses the above-mentioned problem by examining the impact of fluid type on proppant transport and …

Development Of Polymeric Sorbents As Reusable Filtration Systems For Remediation Of Pfas Contaminated Water, E. Molly Frazar

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Decades of use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a multitude of consumer and industry-based products have led to a devastating amount of soil and water contamination. Although these chemicals and compounds possess advantageous qualities – such as that of PFAS in the role of fire-fighting foams that have no doubt saved countless lives and homes, we must take responsibility for the anthropogenic hazards that threaten our global health. This entails being able to cost-effectively remediate problems created in the past from overuse of toxic substances that could negatively impact our future, and in this case, the future of …

Mechanical And Adhesive Properties Of Supramolecular, Mussel-Inspired Hydrogels, Daniel Darby

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The exceptional mechanical and adhesive properties of mussel byssal threads come from supramolecular interactions of ligands found in the proteins comprising them. Ligands can form hydrophobic interactions, π-π stacking interactions, and hydrogen bonds, but the strongest supramolecular interaction they demonstrate is metal-ligand coordination. Specifically, Histidine (His-) and nitrodopamine (nDOPA) ligands coordinate to metals in a bidentate fashion and take on tris-, bis-, and mono- modalities (3, 2, or 1 ligand per ion, respectively). The distribution of these modalities is controlled by equilibrium thermodynamics. These same ligands can be used as crosslinks in supramolecular hydrogel networks. Supramolecular hydrogel networks are dissipative, …

Molecular Understanding Of Zwitterions And Quantum Computing For Sustainability, Manh Tien Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The sustainable development of society needs sustainable energy solutions and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. One key subject in this area is the development of safe and efficient ion-based batteries. Moreover, CO₂ capture is a crucial pathway in mitigating emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Ongoing efforts are to improve both technologies' safety and efficiency. This thesis presents our efforts to conduct computational research on understanding advanced zwitterionic electrolytes and CO₂ capture. Chapters 2-4 illustrate the computational research to understand ionic solvation in zwitterionic electrolytes. Solid-state electrolytes are essential for safer batteries. While solid polymer electrolytes …

Developing And Modeling Tunable Nanofiltration And Functionalized Membranes For The Separation Of Organics And Inorganics From Water: Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Lanthanides, And More, Francisco Cecil Leniz-Pizarro

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

In a world where clean water predictability is challenged by both global warming and the contamination of our natural resources, it is our responsibility to advance water separation technologies into more efficient processes and to lessen their environmental footprint. Pore and surface functionalization of membranes can enhance the separation of ions from water and even help overcome intrinsic challenges that some current separation technologies possess. If we begin with a complete fundamental understanding of the nanoscale interactions that occur in the process of separating ions from water, then we can engineer new functionalized composite membranes to provide alternative processes keeping …

Leveraging Cell-Substrate Adhesion And Cell Migratory Properties In Skeletal Muscle Constructs And Cancer Metastasis Assays, Lauren E. Mehanna

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) remains one of the few skeletal muscle injuries without a reliable and repeatable treatment. In large volume muscle injuries, muscle fibers as well as the surrounding connective tissue are damaged, preventing therapeutic muscle stem cells, called myogenic progenitor cells (MPCs), from reaching the injury site and initiating repair. There is a clinical need to rapidly fabricate in vitro muscle tissue constructs that mimic the native tissue organization, with aligned myotubes, for insertion and integration at the patient’s injury site. In this dissertation, we utilize the MPC’s natural propensity to close gaps across an injury site to …

Direct Recycling Of Lithium-Ion Battery Materials Using Physical Separation Methods., Tinuade Ololade Folayan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The increased demand for Lithium-ion batteries for Electric vehicles has influenced worldwide interest in the research and development of methods for recycling end-of-life Lithium-ion batteries. Direct recycling method has gained more attention in recent times as a method that is low-cost with the ability to recover all Lithium-ion battery materials without changing the chemical and structural properties of the recycled materials.

A lithium-ion battery contains a complex mixture of materials with significantly different physical properties. This work develops physical separation techniques as Direct recycling methods to recycle individual battery components without damaging the functional integrity of the recycled materials. In …

Chemical Decomposition Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam To Generate A Media For Microbial Upcycling, Kaushik Baruah

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polyurethane waste is becoming a global concern as a large amount is being disposed of in landfills every year, and only a fraction is being recycled. Several polyurethane recycling techniques exist, of which ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis is the least explored. Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) decomposition can generate amines that can act as a carbon source for the growth of microbial consortia. This study aims to generate a novel media capable of microbial upcycling via ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis of flexible polyurethane foams (FPUFs) using ammonium hydroxide and subsequently determine the reaction conditions for maximum solubilization of polyurethane foam in …

Microscopic And Laboratory Scale Characterization Methods To Evaluate Biomass Deconstruction, Meenaa Chandrasekar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Renewable fuels from lignocellulosic biomass are an appealing option because they can seamlessly integrate into the existing fuel distribution infrastructure. Lignocellulosic biomass constitutes nonedible plant material obtained from plant cell walls. The natural recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass poses a challenge in accessing the cell wall carbohydrates during biochemical conversion. Despite various approaches, enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass remains economically impractical due to incomplete knowledge about biomass recalcitrance and the influence of environmental factors on biomass quality.

The first goal of this dissertation was to construct a microfluidic imaging reactor to better understand the tissue-specific deconstruction of plant materials. Confocal laser …

Conductive 3d Nano-Biohybrid Systems Based On Densified Carbon Nanotube Forests And Living Cells, Roya Bagheri, Alicia K. Ball, Masoud Kasraie, Aparna Chandra, Xinqian Chen, Ibrahim Miskioglu, Zhiying Shan, Parisa Pour Shahid Saeed Abadi

Michigan Tech Publications

Conductive biohybrid cell-material systems have applications in bioelectronics and biorobotics. To date, conductive scaffolds are limited to those with low electrical conductivity or 2D sheets. Here, 3D biohybrid conductive systems are developed using fibroblasts or cardiomyocytes integrated with carbon nanotube (CNT) forests that are densified due to interactions with a gelatin coating. CNT forest scaffolds with a height range of 120–240 µm and an average electrical conductivity of 0.6 S/cm are developed and shown to be cytocompatible as evidenced from greater than 89% viability measured by live-dead assay on both cells on day 1. The cells spread on top and …

Thermal Analysis Of Thermal Shield For Pip-Ii Ssr1 Cryomodule, Victor Aguado Rodriguez

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Fermilab's PIP-II project plans to enhance the onsite accelerator into the world's most intense neutrino beam, bringing Fermilab into the next generation of particle accelerators. The five different types of cryomodules are vital parts of the PIP-II project and each requires numerous engineering analyses to prove operation. For example, the thermal shield of the Single Spoke Resonator-1 (SSR1) cryomodule required a thermal analysis to ensure the design was operating as intended before fabrication commenced. The thermal shield is cooled by the supercritical helium inside of the extrusion and must remain between 45 and 80 Kelvin. The main purpose of the …

An Artificial Neural Network Approach To Predicting Formation Stress In Multi-Stage Fractured Marcellus Shale Horizontal Wells Based On Drilling Operations Data, Moudhi Alawadh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The distribution of the anisotropic minimum horizontal stress, both in horizontal and vertical directions, is necessary for effective hydraulic fracture treatment design in Marcellus Shale horizontal wells. Typically, the minimum horizontal stress can be estimated sonic logs. However, sonic log data is not commonly available for the horizontal Marcellus shale wells due to the complexity and cost. The objective of this research is to predict the anisotropic minimum horizontal stress by utilizing drilling parameters including depth, weight-on-bit (WOB), revolution per minute (RPM), standpipe pressure, torque, pump flow rate, and the rate of penetration (ROP). More specifically, artificial neural network (ANN) …

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence And Geomechanical Data For Accurate Shear Stress Prediction In Co2 Sequestration Within Saline Aquifers (Smart Proxy Modeling), Munirah Alawadh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research builds upon the success of a previous project that used a Smart Proxy Model (SPM) to predict pressure and saturation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) operations into saline aquifers. The Smart Proxy Model is a data-driven machine learning model that can replicate the output of a sophisticated numerical simulation model for each time step in a short amount of time, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large volumes of subsurface data. This study aims to develop the Smart Proxy Model further by incorporating geomechanical datadriven techniques to predict shear stress by using a neural network, specifically through supervised …

Outstanding Advantages, Current Drawbacks, And Significant Recent Developments In Mechanochemistry: A Perspective View, Silvina Pagola

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although known since antiquity, mechanochemistry has remained dormant for centuries. Nowadays, mechanochemistry is a flourishing research field at the simultaneous stages of gathering data and (often astonishing) observations, and scientific argumentation toward their analysis, for which the combination of interdisciplinary expertise is necessary. Mechanochemistry’s implementation as a synthetic method is constantly increasing, although it remains far from being fully exploited, or understood on the basis of fundamental principles. This review starts by describing many remarkable advantages of mechanochemical reactions, simplifying and “greening” chemistry in solutions. This description is followed by an overview of the current main weaknesses to be addressed …