Matching Items (45)
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- All Subjects: chemical engineering
- All Subjects: Biofuels
- Creators: Chemical Engineering Program
- Status: Published
Targeting Tumors: Inclusion of Functional Groups on Ion-Containing Block Copolymers to Combat Cancer
Description
This research attempts to determine the most effective method of synthesizing a peptide such that it can be utilized as a targeting moiety for polymeric micelles. Two melanoma-associated peptides with high in vitro and in vivo binding affinity for TNF receptors have been identified and synthesized. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-ToF) was used to help verify the structure of both peptides, which were purified using Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). The next steps in the research are to attach the peptides to a micelle and determine their impact on micelle stability.
ContributorsMoe, Anna Marguerite (Author) / Green, Matthew (Thesis director) / Jones, Anne (Committee member) / Sullivan, Millicent (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The mechanisms of extracellular respiration in Geobacter sulfurreducens, commonly considered to be a model organism for anode respiration, are yet to be completely understood. The interplay between electron and proton transport especially could be a key to gaining further insights. One way to investigate the mechanisms of extracellular respiration under varying environmental conditions is by analyzing the electrochemical response of the biofilm with respect to pH, buffer concentrations, and acetate concentrations. I seek to increase the understanding of the electrochemical response of the G. sulfurreducens biofilm through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques in concert with chronoamperometry. I used Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA biofilms in single-chamber electrochemical cells (approximately 100 mL volume) with a small gold working electrode (3.14 mm2). I observed limitations in the initial methods used for media replacement. I tracked changes in the CV data, such as EKA (midpoint potential), as a function of pH and buffer concentration. The media replacement method developed demonstrates success in pH experiments that will be transferrable to other environmental conditions to study electron transport. The experiments revealed that the clarity of data collected is dependent on the quality of the biofilm. A high quality biofilm is characterized by a high current density and normal growth behavior. The general trends seen in these experiments are that as pH increases the potential decreases, and as buffer concentration increases the potential decreases and pH increases. Acetate-free conditions in the reactor were unable to be achieved as characterized by non-zero current densities in the acetate-free experiments.
ContributorsHolzer, Denton Gene (Author) / Torres, Cesar (Thesis director) / Popat, Sudeep (Committee member) / Yoho, Rachel (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Due to the environmental problems caused by global warming, it has become necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the planet. Biofuels, such as ethanol, have proven to release cleaner emissions when combusted. However, large scale production of these alcohols is uneconomical and inefficient due to limitations in standard separation processes, the most common being distillation. Pervaporation is a novel separation technique that utilizes a specialized membrane to separate multicomponent solutions. In this research project, pervaporation utilizing ZIF-71/PDMS mixed matrix membranes are investigated to see their ability to recover ethanol from an ethanol/aqueous separation. Membranes with varying nanoparticle concentrations were created and their performances were analyzed. While the final results indicate that no correlation exists between nanoparticle weight percentage and selectivity, this technology is still a promising avenue for biofuel production. Future work will be conducted to improve this existing process and enhance membrane selectivity.
ContributorsHoward, Chelsea Elizabeth (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Nielsen, David (Committee member) / Greenlee, Lauren (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Lithium-ion batteries are the predominant source of electrical energy storage for most portable electronics applications, including hybrid/electric vehicles, laptops, and cellular phones. However, these batteries pose safety concerns due to their flammability and tendency to violently ignite upon short circuiting or failing. Solid electrolytes are a current research development aimed at reducing the flammability and reactivity of lithium batteries. The compound Li7La3Zr2O12, or LLZO, exhibits satisfactory ionic conductivity in the cubic phase, which is normally synthesized via doping with Al. It has recently been discovered that synthesizing nanostructured LLZO can stabilize the cubic phase without the need for doping. Here nanostructured LLZO was formed using templating on various cellulosic fibers, including cotton fibers, printer paper, filter paper, and nanocellulose fibrils followed by calcination at 700-800 °C. The effect of templating material, calcination temperature, calcination time, and heating ramp rate on LLZO phase and morphology was thoroughly investigated. Templating was determined to be an effective method for controlling the LLZO size and morphology, and most templating experiments resulted in LLZO fibers or ligaments similar in size and morphology to the original template material. A systematic study on the various experimental parameters was performed, concluding that low calcination time and low ramp rate favored smaller ligament formation. Further, it was verified that cubic phase stabilization occurred for LLZO with ligaments of less than 1 micron on average without the use of doping. This research provides more information regarding the size dependence on cubic LLZO stabilization that has not been previously investigated in detail.
ContributorsGordon, Zachary Daniel (Author) / Chan, Candace K. (Thesis director) / Lin, Jerry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The R-specific alcohol dehydrogenase (RADH or LVIS_0347) from Lactobacillus brevis LB19 was found to possess activity on several short chain aldehydes and ketones. This broad substrate specificity was previously uncharacterized. To demonstrate its relevance to the biofuels industry as well as its broader utility for chiral reductions, a detailed characterization was performed to further investigate the activity and function of RADH.
ContributorsHalloum, Ibrahim (Co-author) / Pugh, Shawn (Co-author) / Nielsen, David R. (Thesis director) / Rege, Kaushal (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This study was conducted to better understand the making and measuring of renewable energy goals by the federal government. Three different energy types are studied: wind, solar, and biofuel, for two different federal departments: the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. A statistical analysis and a meta-analysis of current literature will be the main pieces of information. These departments and energy types were chosen as they represent the highest potential for renewable energy production. It is important to understand any trends in goal setting by the federal government, as well as to understand what these trends represent in terms of predicting renewable energy production. The conclusion for this paper is that the federal government appears to set high goals for renewable energy initiatives. While the goals appear to be high, they are designed based on required characteristics described by the federal government. These characteristics are most often technological advancements, tax incentives, or increased production, with tax incentives having the highest priority. However, more often than not these characteristics are optimistic or simply not met. This leads to the resetting of goals before any goal can be evaluated, making it difficult to determine the goal-setting ability of the federal government.
ContributorsStapleton, Andrew (Co-author) / Charnell, Matthew (Co-author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Kull, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The goal of this research project is to create a mixed matrix membrane that can withstand very acidic environments but still be used to purify water. The ultimate goal of this membrane is to be used to purify urine both here on Earth and in space. The membrane would be able to withstand these harsh conditions due the incorporation of a resilient impermeable polymer layer that will be cast above the lower hydrophilic layer. Nanoparticles called zeolites will act as a water selective pathway through this impermeable layer and allow water to flow through the membrane. This membrane will be made using a variety of methods and polymers to determine both the cheapest and most effective way of creating this chemical resistant membrane. If this research is successful, many more water sources can be tapped since the membranes will be able to withstand hard conditions. This document is primarily focused on our progress on the development of a highly permeable polymer-zeolite film that makes up the bottom layer of the membrane. Multiple types of casting methods were investigated and it was determined that spin coating at 4000 rpm was the most effective. Based on a literature review, we selected silicalite-1 zeolites as the water-selective nanoparticle component dispersed in a casting solution of polyacrylonitrile in N-methylpyrrolidinone to comprise this hydrophilic layer. We varied the casting conditions of several simple solution-casting methods to produce thin films on the porous substrate with optimal film properties for our membrane design. We then cast this solution on other types of support materials that are more flexible and inexpensive to determine which combination resulted in the thinnest and most permeable film.
ContributorsHerrera, Sofia Carolina (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Khosravi, Afsaneh (Committee member) / Hestekin, Jamie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Ethanol is a widely used biofuel in the United States that is typically produced through the fermentation of biomass feedstocks. Demand for ethanol has grown significantly from 2000 to 2015 chiefly due to a desire to increase energy independence and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases associated with transportation. As demand grows, new ethanol plants must be developed in order for supply to meet demand. This report covers some of the major considerations in developing these new plants such as the type of biomass used, feed treatment process, and product separation and investigates their effect on the economic viability and environmental benefits of the ethanol produced. The dry grind process for producing ethanol from corn, the most common method of production, is examined in greater detail. Analysis indicates that this process currently has the highest capacity for production and profitability but limited effect on greenhouse gas emissions compared to less common alternatives.
ContributorsSchrilla, John Paul (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This document outlines the research work done by Shona Becwar in the process design and refinement for the production of sustainable butanol from Clostridium, along with the required background knowledge on the subject. The process that the microbiological organisms go through to produce butanol must be an oxygen free environment for up to 21 days with multiple perforations made into the environment in this period. There was not previously a cost effective method to do this, even in small scale. It was determined that using a butyl rubber septa would allow for the environment to be sustained during the growth process. The pervaporation process was losing butanol product at a rate of approximately 60%, changing the tubing from silicon to stainless steel allowed for a mere 7% loss during the separation process, greatly increasing the prospective of upscaling this process. These improvements to the sustainable butanol production process will allow for a more efficient, therefore more economically competitive product which can be used as a drop in equivalent to the current butanol market.
ContributorsBecwar, Shona Marie (Author) / Nielsen, David R. (Thesis director) / Staggs, Kyle (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In our modern world the source of for many chemicals is to acquire and refine oil. This process is becoming an expensive to the environment and to human health. Alternative processes for acquiring the final product have been developed but still need work. One product that is valuable is butanol. The normal process for butanol production is very intensive but there is a method to produce butanol from bacteria. This process is better because it is more environmentally safe than using oil. One problem however is that when the bacteria produce too much butanol it reaches the toxicity limit and stops the production of butanol. In order to keep butanol from reaching the toxicity limit an adsorbent is used to remove the butanol without harming the bacteria. The adsorbent is a mesoporous carbon powder that allows the butanol to be adsorbed on it. This thesis explores different designs for a magnetic separation process to extract the carbon powder from the culture.
ContributorsChabra, Rohin (Author) / Nielsen, David (Thesis director) / Torres, Cesar (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05