Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Template Free-Synthesis Of Polypyrrole Microtubes For Supercapacitor Electrodes, Kryssia P. Diaz, Mark E. Roberts

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

The purpose of this work is to develop a simple, scalable and template-free method to synthesize conducting polymer nano/micro-structures for supercapacitor electrodes. The microstructure and electrochemical properties of structure polypyrrole on various mesh substrates is investigated.

Recovering A Liquid-Lignin Phase From Paper Mill Black Liquors, Julian Velez, Adam Klett, Mark C. Thies

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Solvation Model, Adsorption Site, And Adsorbate Coverage Effects On Adsorption Energies At The Anode In Direct Methanol Fuel Cells, Cameron J. Bodenschatz, Rachel B. Getman

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

No abstract provided.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Extractive Scintillating Resin For Ultra-Trace-Level Quantification Of Uranium In Aqueous Media, C Duval, V Bliznyuk, A Seliman, T Devol, S Husson

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

The detection and quantification of radionuclides in aqueous media is of interest to both the Environmental Protection Agency, for matters of public health, and international organizations like the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, that use environmental samples to investigate claims of illicit nuclear activities. The current method of quantification involves batch style analytical techniques which utilize bulky instruments. Portable, flow cell detectors utilizing extractive scintillating resin with physically sorbed extractants and fluorophores have been developed; however, this resin shows poor long term stability as the active components leach from the resin over time. There is a need to develop chemically …

Roll-To-Roll Synthesis Of Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotubes For Electrical Double Layer Capacitors, Margarita R. Arcila-Velez, Jingyi Zhu, Anthony Childress, Mehmet Karakaya, Ramakrishna Podila, Apparao M. Rao, Mark E. Roberts

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Surface Parameters On Interfacial Water Film Behavior, Brittany Glatz, Luke Rhym, Sapna Sarupria

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

Vapor-to-liquid and liquid-to-solid transitions on mineral surfaces are the primary pathways for phase transitions in atmospheric water. These phase transitions affect the microphysics of clouds and have significant effects on the weather and climate. Our overall goal is to elucidate the mechanisms through which surfaces affect these transitions, and develop predictive abilities to correlate surface properties to the thermodynamics and kinetics of the phase transitions. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to study the structure, and dynamics of water near kaolinite-like surfaces. Kaolinite is the most abundant mineral dust in the atmosphere. We specifically investigate the effect of …

Carbon Fibers Derived From Pan/Bio-Based Bicomponent Precursor, Jing Jin

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

No abstract provided.

Optimization Of Pyrochlore Catalysts For Dry Reforming Of Methane, Felipe Polo-Garzon, Ming He, David A. Bruce

Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium (GRADS)

No abstract provided.

Development And Utilization Of A Pair Of Sol-Gel Entrapped Lipases For Biodiesel Production From High Free Fatty Acid Oils, Cory M. Schwartz

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biodiesel, which consists of fatty acid alkyl esters, is one of the most widely adopted and successful renewable fuels. Traditional physiochemical biodiesel production methods require high cost refined feedstocks, and so alternative methods of catalysis and feedstocks have been explored. This research investigated the use of polysiloxane entrapped lipases to catalyze the production of biodiesel from low cost feedstocks.

In this work, lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (lipase PS) and lipase B from Candida antarctica (CalB) were separately entrapped using sol-gel chemistry. Optimal reaction conditions for the esterification of free fatty acids by immobilized CalB with methanol were determined. Immobilized CalB …

2014 Chemical And Biomolecular Graduate Research Symposium Program, Clemson University

Chemical and Biomolecular Graduate Research Symposium

Program for the 2014 Graduate Research Symposium in Holmes Ballroom - Clemson House.

Porous Titania Microspheres With Uniform Wall Thickness And High Photoactivity, Xinhua Liang, Rajankumar L. Patel

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Highly porous titania particles were prepared by depositing thin films of titania, using alternating reactions of TiCl4 and hydrogen peroxide, on poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) (PS-DVB) template particles via atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 77 C. The composition of the titania films was verified by XPS analysis, and the titania films were directly observed by TEM. TGA/DSC was used to study the thermal decomposition of the polymer template. Porous titania particles with uniform wall thicknesses were successfully obtained after the template PS-DVB was removed by oxidation in air at 400 C for 24 h. Verification of the resulting porous structure of the titania …

Phase Transitions Of Perfluorocarbon Nanoemulsion Induced With Ultrasound: A Mathematical Model, William G. Pitt, Ram N. Singh, Krystian X. Perez, Ghaleb A. Husseini, Daniel R. Jack

Faculty Publications

While ultrasound has been used in many medical and industrial applications, only recently has research been done on phase transformations induced by ultrasound. This paper presents a numerical model and the predicted results of the phase transformation of a spherical nanosized droplet of perfluorocarbon in water. Such a model has applications in acoustic droplet vaporization, the generation of gas bubbles for medical imaging, therapeutic delivery and other biomedical applications. The formation of a gas phase and the subsequent bubble dynamics were studied as a function of acoustic parameters, such as frequency and amplitude, and of the physical aspects of the …

Catalytic Hydrogen Transfer Of Ketones Over Atomic Layer Deposited Highly-Dispersed Platinum Nanoparticles Supported On Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Chengjun Jiang, Xinhua Liang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hydrogen transfer of ketones, catalyzed by highly dispersed platinum nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), was studied. Pt nanoparticles were deposited on gram quantities of non-functionalized MWCNTs by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 300 C, using (methylcyclopentadienyl) trimethylplatinum and oxygen as precursors. TEM analysis showed that ~ 1.4 nm Pt nanoparticles were highly dispersed on MWCNTs. The heterogeneous hydrogen-transfer reactions of acetophenone indicated that an acetophenone conversion of 100% and a 1-phenylethanol selectivity of 99.0% could be obtained with a ketone to Pt mass ratio of 24,690 and a ketone to KOH mass ratio of 22 at 150 C …

Multiphase Hydrodynamics And Distribution Characteristics In A Monolith Bed Measured By Optical Fiber Probe, Yuan Zhou, Milorad P. Dudukovic, Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Hui Liu

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Optical Fiber Probe Has Been for the First Time Applied to Investigate the Hydrodynamics and Gas-Phase Distribution at High Gas/liquid Ratios in a Two-Phase Flow Monolith Bed with 0.048 M Diameter and 400 Cpsi. Local Hydrodynamic Parameters Including Gas Holdup, Bubble Frequency, Bubble Velocity, and Bubble Length in Single Channels Were Measured by 16 Inserted Single-Point Optical Fiber Probes within the Bed under a Nozzle as the Liquid Distributor. the Following Findings Are Reported. (1) the Optical Fiber Probe Can Be Used as an Efficient and Convenient Technique for Measuring Local Hydrodynamic Parameters Inside the Channels of a Monolith …

Environmental Stress Cracking Of Glassy Polymers, Parthasakha Neogi, Gholamreza Zahedi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

When a glassy polymer is exposed to an organic solvent, it can crack spontaneously or fail more readily under extension. This is environmental stress cracking. When the solvent diffuses into the polymer, stresses develop because of swelling of the polymer. In addition, fluctuations give rise to stresses, because of the variation in surface tension from changes in the surface concentration of the solute, which is the Marangoni effect. A linear stability analysis is performed to show that such a system is unstable to infinitesimal disturbances. Large tensile stresses arise locally, leading to failures, which will be observed in the interfacial …

Process For The Purification Of Benzphetamine Hydrochloride, Keith Tomazi

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The present invention relates to the economical and separation of benzphetamine hydrochloride and methamphetamine by liquid extraction. An extraction process employing a suitable organic solvent and water at a pH in the range of from about 6 to about 8 provides excellent removal of the methamphetamine by dissolution in the water phase while the benzphetamine dissolves in the organic phase. Simple separation of the two phases results in separation of the two amines.

Investigating The Effect Of Sio2-Tio2-Cao-Na 2o-Zno Bioactive Glass Doped Hydroxyapatite: Characterisation And Structural Evaluation, Chokchai Yatongchai, Anthony W. Wren, Declan J. Curran, Stuart Hampshire, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The effects of increasing bioactive glass additions,

SiO₂-TiO₂-CaO-Na₂O-ZnO up to 25 wt% in increments of 5 wt%, on the physical and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite (HA) sintered at 900, 1000, 1100 and 1200°C for 2 h was investigated. Increasing both the glass content and the temperature resulted in increased HA decomposition. This resulted in the formation of a number of bioactive phases. However the presence of the liquidus glass phase did not result in increased densification levels. At 1000 and 1100°C the additions of 5 wt% glass resulted in a decrease in density which …

Degradable Borate Glass Polyalkenoate Cements, L. Shen, A. Coughlan, Mark R. Towler, M. Hall

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Glass polyalkenoate cements (GPCs) containing aluminum-free borate glasses having the general composition Ag₂O-Na₂O-CaO-SrO-ZnO- TiO₂-B₂O₃ were evaluated in this work. An initial screening study of sixteen compositions was used to identify regions of glass formation and cement compositions with promising rheological properties. The results of the screening study were used to develop four model borate glass compositions for further study. A second round of rheological experiments was used to identify a preferred GPC formulation for each model glass composition. The model borate glasses containing higher levels of TiO₂ (7.5 mol %) …

Stereoselective Transformations Of Α-Trifluoromethylated Ketoximes To Optically Active Amines By Enzyme-Nanometal Cocatalysis: Synthesis Of (S)-Inhibitor Of Phenylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase, Guilin Cheng, Qi Wu, Zeyu Shang, Xinhua Liang, Xianfu Lin

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

One-pot cascade synthesis of optically active α-trifluoro methylated amines directly from ketoximes was accomplished with the use of Candida antarctica lipase B and catalysts prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Compared to the commercial palladium catalyst, the ALD-prepared catalysts showed much higher activity and afforded various α-trifluoro methylated amides in good yields and with high enantioselectivity. One of the enantiopure amides was further hydrolyzed into the corresponding amine, which was treated as a crucial starting material for total synthesis of (S)-inhibitor of phenyl ethanolamine N-methyltransferase without loss of chiral information. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Synthesis Of Nano-Sized Materials Using Atomic Layer Deposition, Sara Grace Simpson

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Developing Genetic Tools For Geobacillus, Brittany Artale

Honors Theses and Capstones

Bacillus and Geobacillus are the primary bacterium used in biotechnology industries due to their ability to excrete extracellular materials such as proteins, enzymes and other byproducts. Bacillus subtilis, has a well-characterized competence machinery, giving way to characterized genetic tools. However, a significant problem associated with working with Bacillus is the regulation of endospore formation. An alternative to Bacillus is Geobacillus, a thermophilic bacterium. Thermophiles offer significant advantages over other bacteria as host organisms in biofuel, bioremediation, and biocatalyst processes. However, the genetic tools and competency associated with Geobacillus is still unknown. Through, genetic engineering the ability …

Information In Biological Systems And The Fluctuation Theorem, Yaşar Demirel

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: Faculty Publications

Some critical trends in information theory, its role in living systems and utilization in fluctuation theory are discussed. The mutual information of thermodynamic coupling is incorporated into the generalized fluctuation theorem by using information theory and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Thermodynamically coupled dissipative structures in living systems are capable of degrading more energy, and processing complex information through developmental and environmental constraints. The generalized fluctuation theorem can quantify the hysteresis observed in the amount of the irreversible work in nonequilibrium regimes in the presence of information and thermodynamic coupling.

One-Step Production Of Long-Chain Hydrocarbons From Waste-Biomass-Derived Chemicals Using Bi-Functional Heterogeneous Catalysts, Cun Wen, Elizabeth A. Barrow, Jason R. Hattrick-Simpers, Jochen A. Lauterbach

Faculty Publications

n this study, we demonstrate the production of long-chain hydrocarbons (C₈₊) from 2-methylfuran (2MF) and butanal in a single step reactive process by utilizing a bi-functional catalyst with both acid and metallic sites. Our approach utilizes a solid acid for the hydroalkylation function and as a support as well as a transition metal as hydrodeoxygenation catalyst. A series of solid acids was screened, among which MCM-41 demonstrated the best combination of activity and stability. Platinum nanoparticles were then incorporated into the MCM-41. The Pt/MCM-41 catalyst showed 96% yield for C₈₊ hydrocarbons and the catalytic performance was stable …

Quartz Crystal Microbalance Investigation Of Cellulosome Activity From Clostridium Thermocellum On Model Cellulose Films, Shanshan Zhou

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The cost of deconstructing cellulose into soluble sugars is a key impediment to the commercial production of lignocellulosic biofuels. The use of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to investigate reaction variables critical to enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis is investigated here, extending previous studies of fungal cellulase activity for the first time to whole cell cellulases. Specifically, the activity of the cellulases of Clostridium thermocellum, which are in the form of cellulosomes, was investigated. To clearly differentiate the activity of free cellulosome and cell-bound cellulosome, the distribution of free cellulosome and cell-bound cellulosome in crude cell broth at different growth stages …