Other Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Testing The Effectiveness Of Reflective "Cool" Pigments, Ashleigh Carpenter

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an exploration of reflective "cooling" pigments used in coatings for the exterior of a structure in order to control the temperature inside. The pigments reflect sunlight to reduce the heating effect inside a structure. While the project will include the synthesis and testing of these pigments, the focus will be on the design and construction of an apparatus to test the effectiveness of these pigments. An apparatus will be constructed with a heat source and two structures of identical dimensions. The set-up will allow for the temperature of the inside of the structures to be recorded at …

Directed Assembly Of Binary Magnetic Particles, Thomas Thelen

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

No abstract provided.

A Foundational Approach To Extrusion And Compounding, David Frankart

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With a history of nearly 200 years, polymer processing and compounding is constantly changing to fit the material science needs of the era. Exposure of undergraduate students to the technology and practices used in industry today in a lab setting would create new opportunities for experiential learning and growth. The objective was to set up a 0.75”, 25 L/D Thermo Haake single screw extruder for lab use and run trials of material in a single screw extruder to set up a basis for experiments. Trials were run of co-polyester resin through a single screw extruder with carbon fiber additives varying …

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 …

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 …

Elucidating The Properties And Mechanism For Cellulose Dissolution In Tetrabutylphosphonium-Based Ionic Liquids Using High Concentrations Of Water, Brad Crawford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The structural, transport, and thermodynamic properties related to cellulose dissolution by tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPCl) and tetrabutylphosphonium hydroxide (TBPH)-water mixtures have been calculated via molecular dynamics simulations. For both ionic liquid (IL)-water solutions, water veins begin to form between the TBPs interlocking arms at 80 mol % water, opening a pathway for the diffusion of the anions, cations, and water. The water veins allow for a diffusion regime shift in the concentration region from 80 to 92.5 mol % water, providing a higher probability of solvent interaction with the dissolving cellulose strand. The hydrogen bonding was compared between small and large …

Wastewater Treatment Fatty Acids For Biodiesel Production, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater scum is the thick oily substance that floats on top of the primary and secondary tanks within a wastewater treatment plant. Scum has a 30% to 60% lipid content making it an excellent resource for the biodiesel industry. Also the use of scum would reduce the cost of current management practices such as landfill disposal or incineration. In this article there is an overview of lipid byproducts currently being produced at wastewater treatment plants today. This is followed by a presentation showing a full length process for turning wastewater scum into biodiesel raw material.

Techno-Economic Analysis Of Acetaldehyde Production Via Partial Oxidative Dehydrogenation Of Ethanol, Sudarat Sompong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Due to the increased attention regarding the battery electric vehicles, the demand for ethanol as a biofuel may be reduced in the future. Therefore, ethanol transformation towards acetaldehyde is conducted in this work, primarily because of the higher selling price and several advantages of acetaldehyde. Regarding the acetaldehyde preparation, acetaldehyde is produced by partial oxidative dehydrogenation of ethanol. According to the economic analysis results, at the same price of acetaldehyde, an annual production capacity of 120,000 tons is the most profitable production size. In addition, the potential process of producing acetaldehyde from ethanol is acetaldehyde production process at 200°C since …

Formulation And Validation Of Nanoparticle Controlled Delivery For Chemotherapeutic Drug Products, Shani L. Levit

Theses and Dissertations

Taxol, a formulation of paclitaxel (PTX), is one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, particularly for treating recurring ovarian carcinomas following surgery. Clinically, PTX is used in combination with other drugs such as lapatinib (LAP) to increase treatment efficacy. Delivering drug combinations with nanoparticles has the potential to improve chemotherapy outcomes. In this study, we use Flash NanoPrecipitation, a rapid, scalable process to encapsulate weakly hydrophobic drugs (logP in vitro. Encapsulating either PTX or LAP into nanoparticles increases drug potency. When PTX and LAP are co-loaded in the same nanoparticle, they have a synergistic effect that is greater than …

Modeling Of Rotary Packed Beds For Reactive And Non-Reactive Systems, Chinyere Evangeline Ezeobinwune

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rotary packed beds (RPBs) are used in a wide range of reactive and non-reactive applications. In this research, a 2-d, first-principles, dynamic model of a non-reactive RPB that is used for heat exchange between the outgoing flue gas from a power plant and the incoming air to the boiler/pulverizer of the power plant is developed. A 2-d, first-principles model of a reactive RPB is developed where a functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) is used for CO₂ capture.

For the non-reactive system, a Ljungstrom-type air preheater (APH) is considered. Existing models for these rotating heat exchangers are typically 1-d. There are …

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 …

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 …

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 …