Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Manganese Dioxide Coated With Tin Oxide As Cathode Material For High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery., Nichakarn Meekaew

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have attracted increasing attention as an energy storage technology due to their high energy density, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the application of manganese dioxide as the cathode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) is restricted by the solubility of manganese dioxide in aqueous electrolytes and the formation of byproducts during the charge/discharge process, causing severe capacity fading and limited cycle life. Surface modification is one of the interesting techniques to improve zinc-ion batteries electrochemical performance. Here, we report an ultrathin SnO2 film as an artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) to modify the surface of …

Norfloxacin Adsorption By Activated Carbon From Turmeric Waste, Nuttamon Vanichsetakul

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

In recent years, extensive use of modern medicines and incompetency of conventional wastewater treatment systems have led to contamination of antibiotics in the environment especially in lower income countries. Antibiotics could interact with bacteria in the environment forming resistance to the medicine. Antibiotics also disrupt the balance of ecosystems affecting various lifeforms. Norfloxacin is a common antibiotic in Thailand with reported levels of contamination in Bang Pakong River. Adsorption process is a cheap and effective approach to remove antibiotics from wastewater effluent. Activated carbon is a common adsorbent in adsorption process due to its porous properties. Agricultural waste presents as …

Electrochemical Tubular Fixed-Bed Reactor For Conversion Of Pressurized Co2 To Co, Pakawat Sengchim

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) can be used for activating the stable CO2 molecule to the more active CO for downstream purposes. Usually, this process is carried out in CO2-saturated aqueous solutions. The low solubility of CO2 in water of 0.033 M at 1 bar of CO2 and room temperature hinders both kinetics and mass transfer. In this study, a novel electrochemical tubular reactor for electrochemical CO2RR is proposed. The design was made with ease of scale-up in mind. A reactor can contain multiple electrochemical cells connected in series. Each cell consists of 3 main parts: porous anode, porous solid …

Process Of Pretreatment And Hydrolysis Of Lignocellulose From Palm Empty Fruit Bunch For Xylose And Glucose Production, Pitchaya Teerakulkittipong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Oil palm empty fruit bunch is an interesting lignocellulose feedstock for sugar production. However, lignin prohibits chemicals from accessing the hemicellulose and cellulose, which is the source of sugar. Therefore, the overall process requires pretreatment to remove lignin and hydrolysis to convert hemicellulose and cellulose to sugar. In this research, the aim is to design a process model of sugar production using different pretreatment chemicals, including alkaline (NaOH) and acid (H2SO4), and compare the other necessary following process. Moreover, capital investment is also estimated. According to the results, different pretreatment chemicals results in a different change of lignocellulose structure and …

Effect Of Bismuth (Bi) Concentration On Bi/Sn Electrodes Prepared By Electrodeposition In Electrochemical Reduction Of Co2 To Toward Solid Carbon Products, Sarita Phupaichitkun

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (CO2RR) is an interesting and low-cost CO2 conversion technology using renewable electricity as an energy source. Herein, CO2RR to solid carbon products was studied on bismuth/tin (Bi/Sn) electrodes synthesized by electrodeposition method. Different Bi concentration (0.01 M,0.03 M, 0.05 M,0.07 M and 0.1 M) were used to prepare the electrodes by electrodeposition method. The SEM-EDX and EIS results which reveal that the Bi/Sn electrode prepared in 0.05 M Bi 3+ had the lowest charge transfer resistance and was indicated as a CO2RR …

Preparation Of Nickel Phyllosilicate Catalysts By One-Step Modified Spherical Silica Synthesis In Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation And Selective Hydrogenation Of Furfural To Furfuryl Alcohol, Sasithorn Kuhaudomlap

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Spherical silica derived nickel phyllosilicate catalysts were prepared via a one-step modified spherical silica synthesis under room temperature. For 10wt% Ni loading, the loading sequence of Ni and Si sources during spherical silica synthesis was found to affect the characteristics and catalytic properties in CO2 methanation. The stronger interaction between Ni and silica in the form of nickel phyllosilicate revealed the better catalytic performances than the impregnation method. The highest CO2 methanation activity and methane selectivity were obtained over the catalyst prepared by alternate loading between Ni and Si (Ni_Alt_Si) due to high electron density of nickel on the surface, …

Liquid-Phase Selective Hydrogenation Of Furfural To Furfuryl Alcohol Over Pt- And Ptfe-Incorporated Mesoporous Carbon, Sureeporn Saknaphawuth

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research aims to investigate the liquid-phase selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol in a batch reactor at 50ºC, 20 bar H2 using water and methanol as the solvent. This study has been divided into two sections. The characteristics and catalytic properties of OMC-supported Pt catalysts (Pt/OMC-one-pot) prepared by one-step modified soft-template self-assembly method were compared with the Pt impregnated on OMC, activated carbon (AC), and non-uniform meso/macroporous carbon (MC) in the first section. Larger Pt particle size (~4 nm) was obtained on the Pt/OMC-one-pot comparing to all the impregnated ones, in which the Pt particle sizes were in …

Electrochemical Reduction Of Carbon Dioxide On Copper-Based Cathodes In Electrochemical Tubular Fixed Bed Reactor, Kanjira Janya

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

CO2 electrochemical reduction reaction (CO2ERR) has been investigated with an aim to eventually become a means to decrease the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere to hydrocarbons by proton and electron transfer. The product distribution strongly depends on cathode materials. Copper is a unique metal in its ability to catalyze the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to various hydrocarbons including ethylene, but the main problems are the poor solubility CO2 in aqueous solutions. In this study, the performance of CO2ERR is improved by increasing pressure. The ionomer copper foam is used as a cathode in the electrochemical tubular fixed bed reactor …

Synthesis Of Magnetic Carbon Nanotubes Via Co-Pyrolysis Of Eucalyptus Oil With Bimetallic Ni-Fe Catalyst, Tanapat Rodruangnon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Magnetic carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) have been specified one of the most promising nanomaterials. They have been applied in many applications due to special electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Additionally, magnetic carbon nanotubes could be easily handled by using magnetic field. There are many production developments for increasing in yield and quality of MCNTs. In this thesis, bimetallic Ni-Fe catalyst was investigated for its possibility to improve MCNT synthesis. Nickel content was impregnated on the surface of ferrocene which is the source of Fe content. The catalyst is called ‘ferrocene impregnated with nickel nitrate’. Eucalyptus oil, which mainly contains eucalyptol, was …

Tetracycline Sorption By Magnetic Biochar Derived From Watermelon Rind: Performance And Influential Factors, Phisit Thairattananon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Tetracycline (TC) antibiotic is one of emerging contaminants in water reservoirs that causes undesirable effects on environment and human health. Magnetic biochar (MBC) is considered a promising sorbent in adsorption process for removal of contaminants with highly efficient and facile operation. In this work, MBC was synthesized by pyrolysis of watermelon rind impregnated with FeCl3 at different pyrolysis temperatures in a range of 600-900 °C prior to applying for TC adsorption. Characteristics of MBC were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, elemental analyzer, N2 adsorption/desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and X-ray diffractometry. The adsorption kinetics, isotherm, effect …

Thermal/Structural Analysis Of The Axion Quantum Metrology Cavity And Its Components, Tyler Funk

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This research was centered around maximizing the capability to cool dielectric material within a containment unit, or Photonic Band Gap (PBG) cavity, designed for detecting axion dark matter and identifying the unit’s thermal properties. There are multiple types of PBG cavities, but the latest version that axion researchers wish to use has been theorized to contain possible issues related to its thermal properties. Thermal conductivity is an issue with the dielectric material because it is made from alumina which is highly insulative. This is important since the research is being done in a cryogenic environment and the thermal noise affects …

Tailoring Thermoresponsive Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) Toward Sensing Perfluoroalkyl Acids, Dustin Thomas Savage

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Widespread distribution of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment combined with concerns for their potentially negative health effects has motivated regulators to establish strict standards for their surveillance. The United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a cumulative domestic threshold of 70 ppt for water supplies, and this bar is even lower in some local districts and other countries. Monitoring PFAS consequently requires sensitive analytical equipment to meet regulatory specifications, and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy (LC/MS/MS) is the most common technique used to satisfy these requirements. Though extremely sensitive, the instrument is often burdened by pretreatment regimens, …

Development Of Novel Polymeric Materials For Their Application In Monitoring And Remediation Of Environmental Pollutants, Rishabh Shah

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

Remediation of environmental pollutants from water is one of the major challenges in the 21st century. Utilizing novel polymeric materials to accomplish this challenge has garnered a lot of interest in recent times. Flexibility in synthesizing as well as functionalizing makes them attractive for their application in pollutant remediation. This work is based on development and characterization of novel crosslinked polymeric as well as linear polymeric materials from biphenyl-based monomers, biphenyl based crosslinker and a temperature responsive monomer (Nisopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm)) for their application in remediation of toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and iron oxide nanoparticle …

The Effects And Motion Of An Air-Filled Cylinder Being Submerged In Water In The Axial Direction, Ethan Davis

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Submarines operate on the basis of a difference in relative densities between of vessel and the surrounding fluid. This principle is based on the force balance that exists between the total buoyancy force and the force due to gravity. Previous work focuses on the neutral buoyancy depths and velocities of object that once submerged, their buoyancy force is a constant along with the force due to gravity. This work aims to better understand how the compression of air at various depths below the surface of the water contribute to the neutral buoyancy depth, velocity of the object as it rises, …

Development Of Phagotrophic Algae-Based Process For Conversion Of Waste Organics To Algae Lipids As Potential Feedstock For Biofuel, Hannah Nelson

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Interest in sustainable feedstock for biofuel has encouraged research on the production of phagotrophic algae from bacteria using a two-staged continuous-flow system. Bacteria cultures were fed the content of a waste stream from The J.M. Smuckers Company containing high concentrations of sugar. In the design, the bacteria effluent overflowed into the algae tank which was kept at a set volume. Several methods were developed to assist in maintaining the system at steady state and minimize the impact from contaminants. A rigorous cleaning protocol was implemented for both tanks, effectively eliminating protozoa from the bacteria system. The protozoa were decreased in …

Increasing The Corrosion Protection Of Aisi 1008 Carbon Steel By Surface Treatment With Unmodified And Benzotriazole Modified Sol-Gel Films, Shane Thomas Kelliher

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The corrosion performance of sol-gel coated AISI 1008 carbon steel was investigated in 3.5 wt% NaCl solutions of pH 7, 9, and 12 using electrochemical measurements. A corrosion inhibitor, benzotriazole (BTA) was added to the sol-gel mixture and tested as a second, modified sol-gel coating. Sol-gel films adhered evenly to metal samples and were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) showed an increase in polarization resistance from blank to sol-gel coated samples (600-18,800,000 ohms). Cyclic polarization (CPP) curves showed positive hysteresis loops for blank and unmodified sol-gel coated samples which increased at high pH following the backward potential …

Molecular Recognition Of Pet Depolymerization Products And Beta-Cyclodextrin, Thomas Palisin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Using molecular recognition techniques to determine the binding constant of the host-guest relationships of the depolymerization products of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and cyclodextrin species. The main method of data collection used was florescence spectroscopy. Using a titration method and measuring the florescence intensity, a nonlinear regression was used to determine the binding constant.

Evaluating The Thermoresponsive Properties Of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Solutions For Smart Window Applications, Adam Reed

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With HVAC and building energy usage expected to increase, there is a strong need for autonomous thermal management solutions. In particular, there has been a growing interest in thermoresponsive (TR) smart windows that are activated by ambient temperature changes. Most TR smart windows contain a liquid solution between two panes. The goal of this research project was to develop a self-supporting smart window by forming a gel that maintained its TR properties. A gel is less prone to spilling in the case of window breakage. It was also desired to tune the phase transition to occur at environmentally relevant conditions …

Power Generation From Waste Heat During Oil Production, Subrahmanya Chandra Bhamidipati

Masters Theses

"The increase in the world population is causing a significant increase in the global demand for energy. This rise in demand is generally met with the use of fossil fuels. But there is considerable pressure to lessen the release of carbon through the combustion of fossil fuels. One way that the oil and gas industry can provide increased energy without carbon combustion is by extracting the latent heat energy contained in produced oil, gas and water from producing reservoirs, and from water which is cycled through depleted, end-of-life or abandoned reservoirs. Extracting this energy and using it to provide direct …

Minimizing Lost Circulation Non-Productive Time Using Expected Monetary Value And Decision Tree Analysis, Husam Hasan Alkinani, Abo Taleb Tuama Al-Hameedi, Shari Dunn-Norman

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lost circulation and problems related to drilling present a major challenge for the drilling industry. Each year, billions are spent to treat these problems. There is not a single solution to lost circulation because of the complexity and kind of formations susceptible to this issue. Lost circulation treatment data for the Shuaiba formation (induced fractured formation) were gathered from drilled wells in Southern Iraq (over 2000). Treatments have been grouped according to the volume of mud loss as complete, severe, and partial loss remedies. Detailed costs and probabilities calculations were conducted. The costs of three types of loss treatments (partial, …

Impact Of Rheology Models On Horizontal Well Polymer Flooding In A Heavy Oil Reservoir On Alaska North Slope: A Simulation Study, Jianqiao Leng, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Randall S. Seright, Yin Zhang, David Cercone, Samson Ning

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Polymer rheology can have either a positive or a negative effect on polymer flooding performance under varied circumstances. Many researchers have studied the effect of polymer rheology in a vertical well, but no field scale studies have been conducted to investigate whether polymer rheology is beneficial to polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs developed by horizontal wells. In this paper, we conducted a numerical simulation study to examine the effect of HPAM polymer rheology on a polymer flooding pilot, which is the first-ever project conducted on a heavy oil reservoir from Alaska North Slope (ANS) developed by horizontal wells. Three …

First Ever Polymer Flood Field Pilot To Enhance The Recovery Of Heavy Oils On Alaska's North Slope Pushing Ahead One Year Later, Abhijit Dandekar, Baojun Bai, John Barnes, Dave Cercone, Jared Ciferno, Reid Edwards, Samson Ning, Walbert Schulpen, Randy Seright, Brent Sheets, Dongmei Wang, Yin Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In June 2018 the team embarked on an ambitious project to address the slow development pace of Alaska's 20+ billion barrels heavy oil resource via the first ever polymer flood pilot. Following the successful commencement of the pilot in August 2018, the field demonstration, supporting laboratory experiments and numerical simulation have steadily progressed. A significant amount of valuable data and lessons learned have been collected and are reported in this paper. The ongoing pilot and the research activities is making headway toward the primary objective of validating the use of polymer flooding for extracting heavy oil in Alaska's challenging environment. …

Ultrafast Thermal Modification Of Strong Coupling In An Organic Microcavity, Bin Liu, Vinod M. Menon, Matthew Y. Sfeir

Publications and Research

There is growing interest in using strongly coupled organic microcavities to tune molecular dynamics, including the electronic and vibrational properties of molecules. However, very little attention has been paid to the utility of cavity polaritons as sensors for out-of-equilibrium phenomena, including thermal excitations. Here, we demonstrate that non-resonant infrared excitation of an organic microcavity system induces a transient response in the visible spectral range near the cavity polariton resonances. We show how these optical responses can be understood in terms of ultrafast heating of electrons in the metal cavity mirror, which modifies the effective refractive index and subsequently the strong …

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.

Enzyme-Initiated Admicellar Polymerization, Elaheh Shakeri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Admicellar polymerization was developed in the 1980s as an economical method for modifying various surfaces. In admicellar polymerization, a low monomer to initiator (M/I) ratio was traditionally required to overcome this limitation and achieve high polymer conversion when oxygen was present in the headspace and dissolved in the reaction medium. To develop an environmentally friendly, cost-efficient, and feasible deoxygenation and initiation technique, we studied the use of glucose oxidase (GOx) in admicellar polymerization. In this method, GOx acts as the catalyst in the oxidation of ?-D-glucose, while consuming oxygen and generating hydrogen peroxide and D-glucono-?-lactone. There are many advantages of …

Carbon Capture And Utilization, Sriram Valluri

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As the world moves towards clean energy initiative, carbon capture and utilization technologies are key to achieving net zero emissions. CO2 capture with amines has many disadvantages and cannot be applied to commercial power plants. The current manuscript will address this issue as well as a solution that involves the use of low-cost alkali absorbent CO₂ capture solutions, combined with an electrochemical regeneration method that uses the least amount of energy available for capture and regeneration. This research will also further address the issue of how to deal with the captured CO2. Several viable storage and utilization methods have …

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 …

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, …