Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Towards Efficient Water Treatment: Mechanism Of Colloidal Fouling Of Ultrafiltration Membranes, Ikenna Henry Ozofor

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research study first reviewed challenges of conventional and membrane separation systems for water treatment. Though membrane separation systems appeared superior to the conventional counterparts for water and wastewater treatment, wider applications of membrane systems have been limited by some factors, most notably is membrane fouling. Experimental studies were therefore conducted to achieve the goal of this research, which is to investigate how feed properties affect fouling of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes by colloids.

Feed salinity, pH, and nanoparticle concentration were the variables studied to unravel how different UF membranes are fouled by model silica colloids (with average diameter of 25nm). …

Detection And Thermal Stabilization Of Virus Based On Surface Properties, Xue Mi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viral diseases take the lives of millions of people each year. The most effective methods to prevent viral disease outbreak are viral detection to reduce contact with viral pathogens and vaccines to prevent disease. To reduce the costs of the detection of viruses and improve vaccine formulation, we explored viral surface properties. The properties we have focused on are viral hydrophobicity and surface charge using chemical force microscopy (CFM). CFM is a single-particle technique that measures the adhesion force of a functionalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe, and in this study, a virus covalently bound to a surface. The non-enveloped …

Virus Purification Framework And Enhancement In Aqueous Two-Phase System, Pratik Umesh Joshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viral infections regularly pose detrimental health risks to humans. Preventing viral infections through global immunization requires the production of large doses of vaccines. The increasing demand for vaccines, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19, has challenged current manufacturing strategy to develop advanced unit operations with high throughput capability. Over the decade, the upstream processing responsible for synthesizing viral products in cell cultures has shown significant success in yielding high titers of viruses and virus-like particles. The progress in the upstream stage has now shifted the bottleneck to the downstream processing (DSP). Overlooked for decades, the DSP responsible for viral product …

Continuous Viral Vaccine Manufacturing And Viral Detection Strategies, Dylan G. Turpeinen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Viruses are responsible for many human diseases that lead to suffering and death. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), influenza, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have claimed the lives of millions of people. Two methods have been created to reduce the suffering caused by these diseases. The first is the manufacturing of vaccines that prevent disease and the second is the development of virus detection tests that lead to treatment. The work summarized in this dissertation discusses the development of a continuous virus purification process using an aqueous two-phase system for use in vaccine manufacturing. Additionally, two novel virus detection methods were …

Role Of Flocculation And Dispersion In Pelletization Of Iron Ore, Victor J. Claremboux

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Traditional modeling of iron ore pellet strength utilizes micromechanical models such as Rumpf’s equation, which correlate attractive forces and pellet properties into an average expected pellet strength. These models combine with repulsive forces within pellets to predict that pellet strength decreases with the introduction of these forces. However, naïvely applying Rumpf’s equation readily leads to incorrect predictions about the resulting behavior. Pellets created with strong repulsive forces arising from dispersion conditions are observed to be significantly stronger overall than pellets formed in the absence of dispersants. A new model is required to understand and predict the effects of these additives …

Virus-Like Particle Vaccine Manufacturing From Yeast, Ananya Ananya

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Influenza virus has an intrinsic nature to undergo mutations. Hence, there have been struggles to combat this disease since the time when the worst influenza pandemic first hit in 1918. Vaccines have proved to be effective in controlling the spread of the influenza A virus by providing herd immunity. However, the contemporary design of influenza A virus based on egg and cell-culture is not efficient in tackling influenza A virus transformation. Virus-like particles (VLPs) have established themselves as a potental platform for future vaccine candidates. VLPs have all the credentials to supplant contemporary vaccine designs without compromising on immunogenicity. For …

Lipemia Levels Analysis From Human Blood Samples, Zainab Ibrahim Alshoug

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Worldwide, an estimated 31% of people who die each year have a cardiovascular disease (CVD), an all-encompassing group of diseases and conditions of the heart or blood vasculature. Access to portable, user-friendly tools to test lipid levels accurately and efficiently, without requiring large volume blood draws, will help improve access to wellness management by reducing costs and facilitating early screening and monitoring of CVD thus improving outcomes. Point of care micro or millifluidic chips to test biofluids that are integrated into detection units are an attractive measurement tool because of their potential for ease of use by patients at home …

Innovative Sustainable Wood Preservatives From Pulp And Paper Industry Byproduct, Raisa Carmen Andeme Ela

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the modern forest industry, the need for bio-based, renewable, and environmentally-benign wood preservatives is increasing. Preservatives are used to prevent or limit decay and there has been an increasing interest in developing wood preservatives from renewable materials. To support the need for bio-based, environmentally-friendly preservatives, this work employed kraft lignin as a raw material to produce a novel bio-based wood preservative.

For the first project, a statistical design of experiments approach in Minitab® was used to study how fractionation process variables during acid precipitation of lignin influence the lignin mass yield and characteristics. After precipitating lignin from black liquor, …

Investigation Of The Stability Of Liquid And Air Films By Synchronized Tri-Wavelength Reflection Interferometry Microscope, Yuesheng Gao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Liquid films are widely involved in many processes, such as froth flotation, oil extraction, foam/bubble stabilization, etc. In the meantime, air films are commonly seen in diverse fields like dust control, ink print, coating industry, and so on. Stabilities of these liquid/air films are of great importance to improve the processes. As more and more researchers are paying increasing attention to liquid/air films, tremendous efforts have been made to explore the properties of the films. On the one hand, some theoretical models have also been well developed in recent decades. State-of-the-art technologies, such as AFM, SFA, and RICM, have also …

Effect Of The Electrodeposition Potential Of Platinum On The Catalytic Activity Of A Pt/Gc Catalyst Toward Formic Acid Electro−Oxidation, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Bilquis A. Al-Qodami Ms., Ahmad M. Mohammad Prof

Chemical Engineering

The electrocatalytic activity of platinum (Pt)–modified glassy carbon (GC) (referred as Pt/GC) electrodes toward the formic acid electro−oxidation (FAO) was investigated. The Pt deposition on the GC substrate was carried out by a potentiostatic technique at different potentials (from 0.2 V to −0.2 V vs. Hg/Hg2Cl2/KCl (sat.) reference electrode) and the corresponding influence on the catalytic activity toward FAO was monitored. The electrocatalytic inspection revealed a potential role for the Pt deposition potential in boosting the catalytic efficiency of the catalyst toward FAO and further in mitigating the CO poisoning that eventually deactivate the catalyst. Interestingly, the highest activity toward …

Development Of Novel Adsorbent For Industrial Waste Water Treatment, Hassaan M. Shehata, Dalia A. Ali, Islam M. Al-Akraa Dr, Hany A. Elazab, Hoda A. Elsawy Dr

Chemical Engineering

The main objective of this research project is to perform some experimental procedures to inform the ability of the novel adsorbent used in this project. The chemical modification of the adsorbent is the chemical oxidation of pure powder chitosan using some specific redox pairs which are potassium dichromate and sodium bisulphite. After preparing the modified chitosan, there are some parameters that must be discussed during the adsorption process. The first parameter is the time parameter, showing experimentally the optimum time for adsorption under certain conditions by collecting values of absorbance and concentration of thymol blue adsorbed after the process from …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Chitosan Based Catalyst For Catalysis Applications, Mostafa Radwan

Chemical Engineering

In this research, chitosan based catalyst synthesis and characterization was investigated for different application in catalysis as chitosan based catalyst was combined with metal oxides in order to be used in dye removal of methyl orange (MO). Diluted acetic acid was used to dissolve chitosan then different percentages for metallic ions were mixed with diluted chitosan and then, 500 μL were added to the sample to reduce the metal salts then, microwave was used to heat the mixture for 5 minutes and then dried at 80-100 °C. Finally, X- ray diffraction was used to confirm the catalyst prepared. The aim …

Ni-Au Anodic Nano-Electrocatalyst For Direct Glucose Fuel Cells, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Aya S. Abdulhalim Eng, Yassr M. Asal Mr, Ahmad M. Mohammad Prof

Chemical Engineering

This study aims at the sequential assembling of a nickel oxide (NiOx: cauliflower-like nanostructure, 90 nm) and gold (Au; spherical, 95 nm in an average particle size) onto the GC surface nanocatalyst on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode (will be abbreviated as Ni-Au/GC) for the glucose electro−oxidation (GO); the principal anodic reaction in the direct glucose fuel cells (DGFCs). The charge of the Ni deposition on the GC surface (will be abbreviated as Ni/GC electrode) was initially optimized to obtain the highest catalytic activity toward GO which attained at (339.8 Ag−1) by applying 15 mC in the Ni deposition. Yet, …

Enhanced Glucose Electrooxidation At Ni-Cu Binary Oxide Nanocatalyst, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Mahmoud M. Abouzaid Eng, Yaser M. Asal Mr, Ahmad M. Mohammad Prof

Chemical Engineering

The aim of this study is to fabricate a nickel (NiOx) and copper (CuOx) oxide nanocatalyst on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode (will be abbreviated as Ni-Cu/GC) for glucose oxidation (GO). A sequential electrodepositon mode was applied to assemble NiOx and CuOx in the fabrication scheme. The optimization of Ni loading on the GC surface (will be abbreviated as Ni/GC electrode) was achieved first to attain the maximum catalytic efficiency in terms of the specific current toward GO. This (409 Ag1)was obtained by applying 15 mC/cm2 in the deposition of Ni. However, unfortunately the NiOx/GC could not support a long-term …

Development Of Novel Adsorbent For Industrial Waste Water Treatment, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Hassan M. Shehata Eng, Dalia A. Ali Eng., Hoda A. Elsawy Dr

Chemical Engineering

The main objective of this research project is to perform some experimental procedures to inform the ability of the novel adsorbent used in this project. The chemical modification of the adsorbent is the chemical oxidation of pure powder chitosan using some specific redox pairs which are potassium dichromate and sodium bisulphite. After preparing the modified chitosan, there are some parameters that must be discussed during the adsorption process. The first parameter is the time parameter, showing experimentally the optimum time for adsorption under certain conditions by collecting values of absorbance and concentration of thymol blue adsorbed after the process from …

A Spin-Coated Tiox/Pt Nanolayered Anodic Catalyst For The Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Ahmad M. Mohammad Prof

Chemical Engineering

The CO poisoning of the platinum anodic catalyst which typically functions the catalytic deterioration of the direct formic acid fuel cells could be minimized with a simple modification for Pt with titanium oxide. The fabrication scheme involved the spin-coating of a Ti precursor onto a Pt thin layer that was physically sputtered onto a Si substrate. The whole assembly was subjected to a post-annealing processing to produce the TiOx layer (60 nm) in a porous structure (mostly Anatase) atop of the Pt surface. The porous nature of the TiOx layer permitted the participation of Pt in the electrocatalysis of the …

Tuning The Activity And Stability Of Platinum Nanoparticles Toward The Catalysis Of The Formic Acid Electrooxidation, Islam M. Al-Akraa, Bilquis A. Al-Qodami, Santosh Sridhar Mysore Dr, R. Viswanatha Dr, Abdul Kareem Thottoli, Ahmad M. Mohammad

Chemical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Preparation And Characterization Of Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane Prepared From Hazardous Industrial Waste, Shereen Kamel Amin, Mai Hassan Roushdy, Heba Mohamed Abdallah, Ahmed Mostafa, Magdi Fouad Abadir

Chemical Engineering

Kiln rollers, which are widely used in ceramic tiles production, are usually subjected to surface grinding to remove the contaminations. The resulted fine powder is considered useless waste and a hazardous source of environmental pollution particularly as it contains health‐threatening fine free silica. In the present paper, the grind waste from kiln rollers was reused as raw material in the fabrication of nanofiltration cerramic membrane. The samples of produced ceramic membranes were formed into disks by adding 15% (by weight) organic binder solution with 2% concentration, then pressed at 35 MPa, dried and fired at temperatures range from 1100°C to …

Preparation Of Ceramic Membranes From Sludge Waste, Mai H. Roushdy

Chemical Engineering

Ceramic tiles industry produces industrial waste wit large amount which become a worldwide problem. Ceramic sludge produced from ceramic tiles wastewater treatment plant is routinely discarded as a useless waste. The aim of this paper is to recycle the ceramic sludge waste to be used as raw material for ceramic membrane production. The ceramic sludge was collected, dried, and characterized by mineralogical composition (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA and TGA), and chemical composition determination (XRF). The support ceramic membrane samples were formed, pressed, dried then fired using temperatures from 1050 to 1200 °C for 1 to 3 hours. Verification parameters were …

Synthesis Of Graphene Using Plasma Etching And Atmospheric Pressure Annealing: Process And Sensor Development, Andrew Robert Graves

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Having been theorized in 1947, it was not until 2004 that graphene was first isolated. In the years since its isolation, graphene has been the subject of intense, world-wide study due to its incredibly diverse array of useful properties. Even though many billions of dollars have been spent on its development, graphene has yet to break out of the laboratory and penetrate mainstream industrial applications markets. This is because graphene faces a ‘grand challenge.’ Simply put, there is currently no method of manufacturing high-quality graphene on the industrial scale. This grand challenge looms particularly large for electronic applications where the …

Time-Dependent Reliability Framework For Durability Design Of Frp Composites, Rajneesh Kumar Bharil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The life-cycle performance, durability, and aging characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP or Structural Composites) have been of keen interest to the engineers engaged in the FRP design, construction, and manufacturing. Unlike conventional construction materials such as steel and concrete, the design guidelines to account for the aging of FRP are somewhat scattered or not available in an approved or consistent format. Loss of strength over time or aging of any structural material should be of concern to engineers as the in-service lifespan of many engineering structures is expected to exceed 100 years. Use of durability strength-reduction factors or factors …

Cu-Based Electrocatalysts For Carbon Dioxide Conversion To Value-Added Chemicals, Qingyang Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Massive usage of fossil fuel has being causing considerable emission of CO₂, which increases the temperature of the planet and greatly threaten human living environment, such as soil degradation, lower agricultural productivity, desertification, less biodiversity, fresh-water reduction, ocean acidification, ozone sphere destruction, etc. A number of technologies are being developed to reduce the CO₂ amount, however, all existing technologies except utilizing CO₂ as a feedstock, are hardly to essentially close the anthropogenic carbon loop. Currently, considering the economy and operability, electroreduction of CO₂ seems to be the most promising strategy to convert CO₂ to …

Next Generation Of Applications Of Metal-Organic Frameworks For Energy And Environmental Sustainability, Qian Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My PhD work aimed at using Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for mitigating the environmental issues and energy crisis associated with anthropogenic activities. Specifically, we developed robust platforms and/ or systems using MOF as “scaffolds” to allow for model pollutant detection and CO₂ sequestration and benign transformation respectively.

First, I detailed how photocatalytic properties of 2,5-furandicarbocylic acid (FDCA) in its alone and its MOF- integrated form (MIL-160) were used for the first time for the reduction of Ag⁺ at room conditions. Such photocatalytic activities could then be used in user-designed hybrids (i.e., Ag/MIL-160) to form sensorial platforms for prevalent phenol …

Review Of Established And Emergent Methods For The Production Of C4 Olefins, James Matthew Koval

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Current production of C₄ olefins is dominated by naphtha cracking and butane dehydrogenation, but significant research interest is developing in alternate feedstocks due to an abundance of inexpensive natural gas and bioethanol. The current C₄ olefin production methods are costly, make use of already-depleted petroleum resources, and are often hazardous to workers, which forms the impetus for investigation into alternative methods and assessment of their viability as a future means of olefin production. Methods of natural gas conversion to higher order hydrocarbons are discussed, including Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and oxidative methane coupling, each of which could form the first …

A Study On The Hydrodynamics Of A Bench-Scale Top-Fed Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier Using Biomass And Coal As Feedstocks, Ali Can Sivri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The production of synthetic gas (syngas) from renewable or carbon-neutral sources can significantly reduce greenhouse and other emissions associated with conventional fuels. One of the most promising technologies to efficiently convert carbonaceous feedstocks such as biomass, coal, or municipal waste into syngas for transportation, power, heat, electricity generation, and or production of added-value chemicals is the bubbling fluidized-bed gasifier (BFBG). However, the gasification process inside a BFBG is a very complex high-temperature multiphase flow phenomena still not well understood, particularly when binary mixtures are investigated. As a result, despite the numerous correlations in the literature developed to predict the hydrodynamics …

Process Modeling And Techno-Economic Analysis Of Thermo-Catalytic Dimethyl Ether Synthesis And Microwave-Based Aromatics Production Technologies From Shale Gas, Chirag Mevawala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Production of dimethyl ether (DME) and direct non-oxidative methane dehydroaromatization (DHA) to aromatics via conventional and microwave (MW)-assisted processes are investigated in this research. Plant-wide models of the shale gas to DME process with integrated CO₂ capture via direct and indirect synthesis routes have been developed. Optimal parameter estimation, and model validation are undertaken for various sections of the process including the pre-reforming reactor, auto-thermal reforming reactor, DME synthesis reactors, CO₂ capture units and separation sections. A novel DME separation process has been developed for efficient separation of DME, syngas, and CO₂. Plant-wide techno-economic optimization is …

Customized Boron And Magnesium-Based Reactive Materials Prepared By High Energy Mechanical Milling, Xinhang Liu

Dissertations

New reactive materials need to be developed having biocidal combustion products. When ignited, such material can add chemical biocidal effects to the common effects of high temperature and pressure. Biocidal combustion products are capable of deactivating harmful spores or bacteria, which can be released by targets containing biological weapons of mass destruction. Research showed that halogens, especially iodine, are effective as biocidal components of reactive material formulations. Recently, magnesium combustion product MgO is also found to have a biocidal effect. Thus, advanced formulations containing both magnesium and iodine are of interest; such formulations are prepared and investigated here.

Reactive materials …

Impact Of Stirrer Speed And Media Type-Loading On The Breakage Kinetics During Wet Stirred Media Milling Of Griseofulvin, Nathaniel Parker

Theses

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of stirrer speed (2000-4000 rpm) and bead loading (~20-60%) on the breakage kinetics-energy consumption during milling of griseofulvin, a poorly soluble drug, and compare the performance of crosslinked polystyrene (CPS) beads with that of yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) beads. Laser diffraction, SEM, viscometry, and XRPD were used for characterization. A microhydrodynamic model was used to interpret the breakage kinetics. An increase in stirrer speed led to faster breakage due to more frequent and forceful CPS bead-bead collisions. Despite causing slight decrease in maximum contact pressure, an increase in CPS bead loading …

A New Interpretation Of The √7×√7 R19.1° Structure For P Adsorbed On A Ni(111) Surface, Elizabeth Barrow, Grant S. Seuser, Hiroko Ariga-Miwa, Donna A. Chen, Jochen A. Lauterbach, Kiyotaka Asakura

Faculty Publications

We have studied P adsorption on Ni(111), a system which shows complex adsorbate structures. We determined the phase diagram of the surface P adsorbed on Ni(111). At low coverage, amorphous P was observed. At temperatures between 373 and 673 K and coverages above 0.1 monolayer, we found a √7×√7 R19.1° structure, but above 673 K, other complex structures were created. These structures seemed to correlate with each other and we reinterpret a √7×√7 R19.1° structure of P adsorbed on Ni(111) based on the similarities of these surface structures. The new rectangular structure for the √7×√7 19.1° is discussed in relation …

Effect Of 3d Printed Tablet Shape On Drug Release Profile, Christina Gedeon

Theses

There is a growing interest in utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) as a manufacturing tool to develop oral tablets for personalized medicine. This ultimate goal in mind, this study explores the feasibility of extrusion-based fused deposition modeling (FDM) to 3D print oral tablets with tunable design to control drug release profile. Tablets are printed using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with model drugs: acetaminophen and caffeine. Hot melt extrusion (HME) is used to fabricate PVA filaments loaded with acetaminophen and caffeine. These filaments are used to fabricate a range of tablets with varying designs to prepare immediate and delayed release tablets. Thermal …