Other Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Production Of Cellulose-Based Superabsorbent Polymers For Soil Water Retention, Rosa Maria Arredondo Ramirez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) have attracted tremendous attention, with researchers noting that their high water absorption capacity (AC) is valuable for various applications, especially in agricultural contexts. Two types of materials can be used to produce SAPs: fossil-based (which are harmful to the environment) and bio-based (which are significantly more environmentally friendly, given their biodegradability and minimal toxic side effects). Although bio-based SAPs (Bio-SAPs) are preferable due to their environmental merits, their preparation tends to be time consuming and labour intensive, and their AC is still far below expectations. To address these problems, a novel, eco-friendly, cellulose-based superabsorbent polymer (Cellulo-SAP) was …

Identification And Distribution Analysis Of The Mid-Phase In A Low-Velocity Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed, Zhenan Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The intermediate phase in low-velocity gas-solid fluidized beds generally presents excellent gas-solid contact in the systems. However, no comprehensive understanding of this vital phase is available in the literature. Therefore, this study proposed a statistical method to identify this intermediate phase, named ‘mid-phase’ in this thesis, to interpret the system performance based on the analysis of solids holdup in a low-velocity gas-solid fluidized bed.

The distributions of the mid-phase are investigated along both radial and axial directions in consideration of different flow regimes. The result shows that the turbulent regime contains a higher amount of mid-phase and the spatial mid-phase …

Development Of A Cold Model Fuild Coker Pilot Plant, Jessica A. Godin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fluid Coking^TM is an upgrading process used to produce higher-value products from heavy hydrocarbons through thermal cracking. A Hot Pilot Plant is being designed for potential use to optimize commercial Fluid Cokers.

A Cold Model Fluid Coker was operated in this thesis to identify design limitations restricting operation at the required conditions. Design changes were implemented, and their impact on the system fluid dynamics were characterized. Successful operation of at required conditions was demonstrated.

Pressure measurements provided rapid feedback on potential issues. Models for bed expansion and entrainment flux were developed, which can be used to extrapolate to the …

Co-Gasification Of Biomass And Plastic Waste In A Bubbling Fluidized Bed Reactor, Islam Elghamrawy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Plastics are versatile, durable, and can be manipulated to match different needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of reducing plastic waste and is believed to be responsible for increasing the generation of plastic waste by 54,000 tons/day which was reported in 2020. Another widely available waste is biomass waste. Agriculture and agroforestry, forest and wood processing, municipal waste, and the food industry are all considered major producers of biowaste. Co-gasification is considered one of the most promising methods of chemical recycling that targets the production of syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) and light hydrocarbon gases. In this study, …