Other Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Improving The Distribution And Use Of Biogas By Conversion To Methanol, Zachary Christman

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

In this technology review, the process of turning an average biogas into methanol will be presented. The purpose is to find a better method of transporting the energy contained within biogas so that it may be used in industry as a value added product. The first step is removal of hydrogen sulfide, a corrosive chemical that can breakdown mechanical parts. The second step is carbon capture and conversion of the biogas into hydrogen. The final step is the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into methanol using a copper catalyst and an alcohol co-catalyst.

New Method Of Manufacturing Carbon Foam, Matthew D. Artimez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Carbon foam is a product that has some unique features. Carbon foam is a light weight material that has a high crush strength. It is electrically conductive, but because it is composed of air space between the tendrils, it is not a thermal conductor. Since it contains no volatile content, it is noncombustible. All these features allow carbon foam to have many modern applications. Currently, there are only three methods of producing carbon foam, and all three are not cost- efficient enough to meet the demand of potential new markets.

In this thesis, a new procedure of producing carbon foam …

Theoretical Analysis Of Stresses In A Lithium Ion Cell, Sindhuja Renganathan, Godfrey Sikha, Shriram Santhanagopalan, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

A mathematical model to simulate the generation of mechanical stress during the discharge process in a dual porous insertion electrode cell sandwich comprised of lithium cobalt oxide and carbon is presented. The model attributes stress buildup within intercalation electrodes to two different aspects: changes in the lattice volume due to intercalation and phase transformation during the charge/discharge process. The model is used to predict the influence of cell design parameters such as thickness, porosity, and particle size of the electrodes on the magnitude of stress generation. The model developed in this study can be used to understand the mechanical degradation …

Analytical Expression For The Impedance Response For A Lithium-Ion Cell, Godfrey Sikha, Ralph E. White

Faculty Publications

An analytical expression to predict the impedance response of a dual insertion electrode cell (insertion electrodes separated by an ionically conducting membrane) is presented. The expression accounts for the reaction kinetics and double-layer adsorption processes at the electrode-electrolyte interface, transport of electroactive species in the electrolyte phase, and insertion of species in the solid phase of the insertion electrodes. The accuracy of the analytical expression is validated by comparing the impedance response predicted by the expression to the corresponding numerical solution. The analytical expression is used to predict the impedance response of a lithium-ion cell consisting of a porous LiCoO …