Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Statistically Guided Synthesis Of Mov- Based Mixed Oxide Catalysts For Ethane Partial Oxidation, Juan D. Jimenez, Kathleen Mingle, Teeraya Bureerug, Cun Wen, Jochen Lauterbach

Faculty Publications

The catalytic performance of Mo8V2Nb1-based mixed-oxide catalysts for ethane partial oxidation is highly sensitive to the doping of elements with redox and acid functionality. Specifically, control over product distributions to ethylene and acetic acid can be afforded via the specific pairing of redox elements (Pd, Ni, Ti) and acid elements (K, Cs, Te) and the levels at which these elements are doped. The redox element, acid element, redox/acid ratio, and dopant/host ratio were investigated using a three-level, four-factor factorial screening design to establish relationships between catalyst composition, structure, and product distribution for ethane partial oxidation. Results show that the balance …

Statistically Guided Synthesis Of Mov-Based Mixed-Oxide Catalysts For Ethane Partial Oxidation, Juan D. Jimenez, Kathleen Mingle, Teeraya Bureerug, Cun Wen, Jochen A. Lauterbach

Faculty Publications

The catalytic performance of Mo8V2Nb1-based mixed-oxide catalysts for ethane partial oxidation is highly sensitive to the doping of elements with redox and acid functionality. Specifically, control over product distributions to ethylene and acetic acid can be afforded via the specific pairing of redox elements (Pd, Ni, Ti) and acid elements (K, Cs, Te) and the levels at which these elements are doped. The redox element, acid element, redox/acid ratio, and dopant/host ratio were investigated using a three-level, four-factor factorial screening design to establish relationships between catalyst composition, structure, and product distribution for ethane partial oxidation. Results show that the balance …

Atomically Dispersed Pd On Nanodiamond/Graphene Hybrid For Selective Hydrogenation Of Acetylene, Fei Huang, Yuchen Deng, Yunlei Chen, Xiangbin Cai, Mia Peng, Zhimin Jia, Pengju Ren, Dequan Xiao, Xiaodong Wen, Ning Wang, Hongyang Liu, Ding Ma

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

An atomically dispersed palladium (Pd) catalyst supported onto a defective nanodiamond-graphene (ND@G) is reported here for selective hydrogenation of acetylene in the presence of abundant ethylene. The catalyst exhibits remarkable performance for the selective conversion of acetylene to ethylene: high conversion (100%), ethylene selectivity (90%), and good stability (i.e., steady for at least 30 hours). The unique struc-ture of the catalyst (i.e., atomically dispersion of Pd atoms on graphene through Pd-C bond anchoring) ensure the facile desorption of ethylene against the over-hydrogenation of ethylene to undesired ethane, which is the key for the outstanding selectivity of the catalyst.

Shape-Based Separation Of Micro-/Nanoparticles In Liquid Phases, Behrouz Behdani, Saman Monjezi, Mason J. Carey, Curtis G. Weldon, Jie Zhang, Cheng Wang, Joontaek Park

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The production of particles with shape-specific properties is reliant upon the separation of micro-/nanoparticles of particular shapes from particle mixtures of similar volumes. However, compared to a large number of size-based particle separation methods, shape-based separation methods have not been adequately explored. We review various up-to-date approaches to shape-based separation of rigid micro-/nanoparticles in liquid phases including size exclusion chromatography, field flow fractionation, deterministic lateral displacement, inertial focusing, electrophoresis, magnetophoresis, self-assembly precipitation, and centrifugation. We discuss separation mechanisms by classifying them as either changes in surface interactions or extensions of size-based separation. The latter includes geometric restrictions and shape-dependent transport …

A Spatio-Temporal Model Reveals Self-Limiting Fcɛri Cross-Linking By Multivalent Antigens, Md Shahinuzzaman, Jawahar Khetan, Dipak Barua

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aggregation of cell surface receptor proteins by multivalent antigens is an essential early step for immune cell signalling. A number of experimental and modelling studies in the past have investigated multivalent ligand-mediated aggregation of IgE receptors (FcɛRI) in the plasma membrane of mast cells. However, understanding of the mechanisms of FcɛRI aggregation remains incomplete. Experimental reports indicate that FcɛRI forms relatively small and finite-sized clusters when stimulated by a multivalent ligand. By contrast, modelling studies have shown that receptor cross-linking by a trivalent ligand may lead to the formation of large receptor superaggregates that …

Numerical Simulation Study On Miscible Eor Techniques For Improving Oil Recovery In Shale Oil Reservoirs, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Shale formations in North America such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have huge oil in place, 100—900 billion barrels of oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still below 10%. Therefore, seeking for techniques to enhance oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. Although most of the previous studies in this area recommended that CO₂ would be the best EOR technique to improve oil recovery in these formations, pilot tests showed that natural gases performance clearly exceeds CO₂ performance in the field scale. In this paper, two different approaches have been integrated to …

Arrhenius Rate Chemistry Informed Inter-Phase Source Terms (Arciist) For Macro-Scale Explosive Hydrocodes, Matthew J. Schwaab

Theses and Dissertations

A critical factor in hydrocodes designed to simulate explosive material is defining the chemical reaction rate under various conditions. This rate determines how quickly the granular solid explosive is converted to its gaseous products. Currently, the state of the art for macro-scale hydrocodes is to use one of numerous burn models. These burn models are designed to estimate the bulk chemical reaction rate. Unfortunately, these burn rate models are largely based on empirical data and must be recalibrated for every new material being simulated. This research proposes that the use of Arrhenius Rate Chemistry Informed Interphase Source Terms (ARCIIST) in …

Assembling Of Niox/Mwcnts-Gc Anodic Nanocatalyst For Water Electrolysis Applications, Yaser M. Asal Mr., Islam M. Al-Akraa Dr, Saher D. Khamis Eng

Chemical Engineering

Glassy carbon (GC) electrode is intended to be modified with nickel oxide (NiOx) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the anodic reaction of water electrolysis. NiOx deposition time is optimized and a 5 min was enough to attain the maximum activity. A further modification of the catalyst with MWCNTs could greatly enhance its stability during continuous electrolysis. As an outcome, an energy amount of 21.7 kWh/KgO₂ is minimized. Several electrochemical and materials characterization setups will be utilized to test the catalyst activity and to know its geometry and structure.

An Initial Study Of The Catalytic Reforming Of Crop Oil‐Derived 1‐Alkenes With Hzsm‐5 To Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Shelby Amsley‐Benzie, Swapnil Fegade, Brian Tande, Alena Kubatova, Evguenii Kozliak, Wayne Seames

Chemical Engineering Faculty Publications

This study explored the production of aromatic hydrocarbons from the longer‐chain alkenes produced by the pyrolysis/cracking of crop oils. 1‐Tetradecene, serving as a model compound for these alkenes, was reformed in a batch reactor with a HZSM‐5 catalyst to produce a liquid hydrocarbon mixture with a high‐aromatic content. These reactions resulted in a >99% conversion of the 1‐tetradecene feedstock with a yield of up to 22 wt% of aromatic hydrocarbons. Surprisingly, isomers of C3‐substituted benzenes along with xylenes and diaromatics (lower homologs of alkyl‐substituted indanes and naphthalenes) were the main aromatic products rather than their lower‐molecular‐weight (MW) homologs, benzene, toluene, …

Investigation Of Flow Mechanisms In Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage Process, Iskandar Dzulkarnain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study we investigate displacement mechanism for oil recovered using Gas- Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) method. For a typical oil recovery under gravity drainage, the recovery profile can be characterized by an initial bulk flow which occurs rapidly and a later film flow that extends for a longer duration. It is the latter period where film spreading, the ability of oil to spread above water in the presence of gas, is identified as the displacement mechanism responsible for recovering the remaining oil in gravity drainage process. Literature survey indicates that mathematical models for gravity drainage do not account for …

An Aqueous All-Metal Oxide Asymmetric Supercapacitor With High Gravimetric And Volumetric Energy Densities, Xin Jing, Xu Zhang, Wei Wang, Jun-Wei Lang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Only with both high gravimetric and high volumetric energy densities, can supercapacitors find more extensive applications.In this paper, by making good use of the interesting nanostructures and the high packing densities of RuO₂ (nanoshpheres,1.69 g·cm^-3) and Co-Ni oxide (nanoflakes, 2.14 g·cm^-3), the RuO₂//KOH//Co-Ni oxide all-metal oxide asymmetric supercapacitors with high performance were successfully fabricated, which led to the maximum specific capacitance of 217.5 F·g^-1 (412.3 F·cm^-3) and specific energy density of 61.8 Wh·kg^-1 (121 Wh·L^-1) in a cell voltage between 0 and 1.5 V in KOH electrolyte. …

Electrochemical Performances Of Neodymium Doped Lead Dioxide Composite Anode, Hong-Hui Wang, Ming-Jie Ma, Jie Feng, Huang-Ya Kang, Wen-Jie Huang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Neodymium (Nd) doped titanium (Ti)-based lead dioxide (PbO₂) composite anode was prepared by electrodeposition. The surface morphologies and crystal structures of the as-prepared anodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, respectively. The electrochemical performances of PbO₂-Nd anode were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry. Additionally, the electrocatalytic activity and durability of PbO₂-Nd anode were investigated through the degradation of simulative refractory organic wastewater of phenol. The results showed that Nd doping made the PbO₂ anode surface structure dense and uniform with smaller …

Highly Crystalline Nickel Borate Nanorods As Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts, Xi Xu, Juan Liu, Hua-Zong Wu, Wen-Jie Jiang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Hydrogen energy, a kind of clean and renewable energy, is considered to be the solution to the problems of energy crisis and environmental deterioration. Electrochemical water splitting is an efficient and promising technology for the production of high-purity hydrogen. However, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode of water electrolyzer limits the efficiency of water splitting due to the high overpotential. Therefore, the challenges still remain for the exploration of highly active, stable and low-cost catalysts with superior activity for OER. Herein, nickel borate nanorods with high crystallinity were prepared via high-temperature calcination. The as-obtained nickel borate nanorods with 2 …

Investigation Of Flow Mechanisms In Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage Process, Iskandar Dzulkarnain

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this study we investigate displacement mechanism for oil recovered using Gas- Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) method. For a typical oil recovery under gravity drainage, the recovery profile can be characterized by an initial bulk flow which occurs rapidly and a later film flow that extends for a longer duration. It is the latter period where film spreading, the ability of oil to spread above water in the presence of gas, is identified as the displacement mechanism responsible for recovering the remaining oil in gravity drainage process. Literature survey indicates that mathematical models for gravity drainage do not account for …

Development Strategies For A Fractured, Heavy Oil Reservoir - Results From Numerical Simulations, German Albertovich Abzaletdinov

LSU Master's Theses

This research is focused on studying reservoir “N” in the Yarega heavy oilfield (YHOF) for development strategies and production optimization. YHOF is a naturally fractured heavy oil field where only very recently SAGD technology has been introduced. The motivation for this research is derived from the fact that SAGD employed in this field has so far resulted in early steam breakthrough leading to producer abandonment and new drilling, thus increasing costs. This study explores numerically different static and dynamic reservoir characterization models (single porosity versus dual porosity systems), and subsequent pressure-production history matched reservoir simulation for understanding heat and mass …

Direct Quantification Of Deubiquitinating Enzyme Activity In Single Intact Cells, Nora Safabakhsh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Challenges in drug efficacy occur during the treatment of most types of cancer due to the heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment. This has led to the development of personalized medicine. Due to the clinical success of the proteasome inhibitors Bortezomib and Carfilzomib in treatment of multiple myeloma, interest has shifted towards molecularly-targeted chemotherapeutics for ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) are an essential part of this pathway which have been found to promote Bortezomib resistance in multiple myeloma patients. Unfortunately, there is a lack of specific, high throughput biochemical assays to characterize DUB activity in patient samples before and after …

Combined Effect Of Oxidative Treatment And Residual Alcohol On The Mechanics Of A Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Laden Interface, William Ivancic, Christopher L. Wirth

Chemical & Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Single and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT & MWCNT) have been investigated over the past three decades because of their excellent properties, including their mechanical strength and large electrical and thermal conductivities. Incorporating CNTs into consumer and industrial products is challenging because of strong attractive interactions, heterogeneity, and lack of separation techniques for these nanomaterials. Further challenges include those associated with CNT interaction and adsorption to interfaces. In the present work, the properties of an air/water interface laden with industrial grade MWCNTs with systematically varied oxidative treatment in nitric acid were measured. The duration of treatment was varied and the surface …

Co2-Eor Mechanisms In Huff-N-Puff Operations In Shale Oil Reservoirs Based On History Matching Results, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) techniques in Unconventional Liquids Rich Reservoirs (ULR) are still a new concept because there is no commercial project for any IOR technique so far. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) based EOR technique has been effectively applied to improve oil recovery in the tight formations of conventional reservoirs. Extending this approach to unconventional formations has been extensively investigated over the last decade because CO₂ has unique properties which make it the first option of EOR methods to be tried. However, the applications and mechanisms for CO2-EOR in unconventional reservoirs would not necessarily be the same as …

Developing Multi-Scale Models For Water Quality Management In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Ahmed A. Abokifa

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Drinking water supply systems belong to the group of critical infrastructure systems that support the socioeconomic development of our modern societies. In addition, drinking water infrastructure plays a key role in the protection of public health by providing a common access to clean and safe water for all our municipal, industrial, and firefighting purposes. Yet, in the United States, much of our national water infrastructure is now approaching the end of its useful life while investments in its replacement and rehabilitation have been consistently inadequate. Furthermore, the aging water infrastructure has often been operated empirically, and the embracement of modern …

Aromatic Tolerance And Utilization Mechanisms Of Rhodococcus Opacus Pd630 To Produce Value-Added Products From Lignin, Wiliam Henson

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Lignocellulosic biomass is a potential renewable feedstock for the microbial production of fuels and chemicals. For microbial utilization, lignocellulosic biomass must undergo pretreatment (e.g., thermochemical and enzymatic processing) to release fermentable sugars.

Lignin comprises ~15-30% of lignocellulosic biomass, and lignin-derived aromatic compounds released during pretreatment can inhibit the microbial conversion of lignocellulosic sugars to bioproducts. Additionally, cost-effective separation of lignin and lignin by-products from lignocellulosic sugars remains a challenge, and current processes generate large waste streams that are typically burned or discarded. Thus, efforts are underway to improve microbial tolerance to lignin by-products and to develop approaches for valorizing waste …

Exploring Fatty Acid Metabolism For The Biosynthesis Of Non-Natural Chemicals, Wen Jiang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The global energy crisis and increasing environmental concerns have spurred the sustainable production of biofuels and other fossil-fuel-derived chemicals. One approach is to engineer microbial metabolic pathways to convert renewable feedstocks (e.g. lignocellulosic biomass) to compounds that have structures similar to those of petroleum-derived fuels and chemicals. The microbial fatty acid (FA) biosynthetic pathway is attractive because FAs are common precursors that can be converted to several types of chemicals, including alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, and esters. These chemicals have numerous applications as fuels, fragrances, emollients, plasticizers, thickeners, and detergents. Most work has used Escherichia coli as the microbial host due …

Synthesis Of Crumpled Graphene And Titanium Dioxide Based–Nanomaterials And The Application To Carbon Dioxide Photoreduction, Yao Nie

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

With the rapid development of the economy, increasing combustion of fossils fuels has caused an increase in the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) level, and has led to global climate change. As a mitigation approach, CO2 capture and conversion (CCC) can not only capture CO2, but also convert it to useable products, such as hydrocarbon fuels. Photocatalytic reduction is an attractive CCC option that directly harnesses inexpensive and abundant solar energy. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a widely used semiconductor for photocatalysis, and graphene nanosheets are a promising material for use in fabricating graphene-TiO2 hybridized photocatalysts. To realize the application of these …

Engineering Robust And Programmable Biological Systems, Tatenda Shopera

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The ability to engineer programmable biological systems using complex artificial gene networks has great potential to unlock important innovative solutions to many biotechnological challenges. While cells have been engineered to implement complex information processing algorithms and to produce food, materials, and pharmaceuticals, many innovative applications are yet to be realized due to our poor understanding of how robust, reliable, and predictable artificial gene circuits are built. In this work, we demonstrate that robust complex cellular behaviors (e.g., bistability and gene expression dynamics) can be achieved by engineering gene regulatory architecture and increasing the complexity of genetic networks. We further demonstrate …

Lignin Conversion To Value-Added Products Via Heterogeneous Catalysts, Yu Gao

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Increasing world population has led to great demands for fuels, chemicals, and materials, and has raised concerns over the depletion of non-renewable resources and the environmental impacts of their processing and utilization. However, the biorefinery concept suggests lignocellulosic biomass can be used as an alternative resource for producing a range of fuels, chemicals and materials to fulfill these demands in a sustainable way. Hence, fermentation technologies are widely developed to efficiently utilize lignocellulosic carbohydrates. However, the non-carbohydrate fraction of biomass, lignin, is still considered as waste and is under-utilized as low-grade fuel, mainly for local heat and electricity production. Since …

Aging Response And Precipitation Behavior After 5% Pre-Deformation Of An Al-Mg-Si-Cu Alloy, Shuoxun Jin, Tungwai Ngai, Liejun Li, Shian Jia, Tongguang Zhai, Dongjie Ke

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, Al-1.00 Mg-0.65 Si-0.24 Cu alloy was solution heat-treated, water-quenched, and then pre-deformed for 5% before aging. The peak hardness and yield strength of the pre-deformed sample with subsequent artificial aging were similar to that of a T6 condition sample. It was also found that the pre-deformation treatment could inhibit the negative influence of natural aging to some degree. After seven days of natural aging, the pre-deformed sample obtained better peak hardness and yield strength upon artificial aging than the sample without pre-deformation. In addition, the pre-deformation treatment could reduce 50% of the artificial aging time to reach …

Applications Of Computational Models On Studying Particulate Systems, Jielin Yu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Particulate systems have been widely studied because of its various phenomena and tight relationship with industry applications. In this dissertation, two types of computational models have been adopted to study two problems with different particulate systems: granular self-organization inside a cylinder driven by an orbital-shaker and the optimal design of bypass line for an industrial-scale 8‑leg polyolefin loop reactor.

In the first study, behavior of both single particle and multiple particles in a rotating cylinder has been modeled by discrete element method (DEM) to understand the mechanism of granular self-organization. Sets of studies have then been performed to study the …

Kinetic Study Of Hydrolysis Of Ethyl Acetate Using Caustic Soda, Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

We report here, the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate by using caustic soda which is followed by means of conductance measurements which is widely used in chemical industry. The main aim of this research is to study the parameters of production of ethyl acetate by chemical reaction kinetics using an anion ion-exchange acting as a catalyst and acid-base titrations. The reaction of ethyl acetate and sodium hy-droxide (caustic-soda) is done in a plug-flow reactor (steady-state tubular reactor) under the effect of different parameters including tem-perature, concentration and flow-rate, which allows the determination of activation energy and rate constants, due to large …

Arrayed Lyser And Homogenizer Systems With Multiple Agitator Devices, Robert W. Doebler, Mark Brown, Tanya Ferguson, Bruce Irvine, James D. Sterling

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

Systems and methods for the efficient agitation of tissue samples. A device may include a plurality of chambers that each receives samples therein. The plurality of chambers may be uniformly spaced with respect to a least one dimension, to form a one dimensional or two-dimensional array. Each of the chambers may include an opening and an agitator device in fluid contact with the sample disposed within the chamber. The agitator devices may include a micromotor which provides rotational motion to a shaft and an impeller fixed to the shaft such that the impeller and the shaft rotate together upon provision …

Preparation Of Insulating Material Based On Rice Straw And Inexpensive Polymers For Different Roofs, Fatma Zakaria, M. A. Radwan, M. A. Sadek, Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

Fossil fuel saving is part of the 21th century goal. One of the largest sectors that consumes energy is the building sector since it consumes 40% of the total energy in Europe through heating and cooling. Thus, the need of minimizing the energy consumption played an im-portant role in the development of building insulation materials. Selection of a proper material for building insulation differs according to the building surrounding climate and the properties required in the material. Building climate determines the insulating material location whether its internal or external while properties can differ ac-cording to many parameters that affect the …

Insulating Material Based On Shredded Used Tires And Inexpensive Polymers For Different Roofs, Hany A. Elazab Dr

Chemical Engineering

Thermal insulation is the ability of the material to prevent or reduce the heat transfer through the insulating material or between thermally contacted objectives. The increasing of the greenhouse effect leads to a continuous rising of the temperature especially in the summer, thus, there is a continuous research that aims to find more effective and environmental friendly insulation materials. Nowadays, a great number of proportions from polyurethane foam are produced every year in order to be used as an insulating material. Polyurethane foam shows an effective heat insulation results, but the price of the polyurethane is getting more expensive each …