The increase on petroleum-based fuel demand, lack of sufficient petroleum resources, reaching hazardous limits of green house gases and the... Show moreThe increase on petroleum-based fuel demand, lack of sufficient petroleum resources, reaching hazardous limits of green house gases and the need for energy security are motivating the development of an alternate fuel besides conventional gas. Bio-diesel, as a potential replacement to petrol, is technically feasible, environmentally friendly, produced locally and provides low gallon per Btu. Biodiesel obtained from microalgae is a form of fuel being used recently which gives the opportunity to obtain energy in environmental friendly and sustainable manner without competing on human’s food as biofuel feedstock; growing microalgae and turning it to biodiesel is not cost effecttive yet though. In order to minimize the cost of microalgae production, each step of algal growth should be studied and optimized. The separation of algae cells from their aquatic medium, known as harvesting, is the most challenging and energy consuming step of growth cycle. Different studies have shown more than 30% of algal production energy consumption is dedicated to the harvesting phase. Small size of algae cells, low concentration, small density difference between algae and medium and ionic charge of medium makes it impossible to sediment algae cells by gravity or coagulation. An effective method to separate algae from its medium could be bio-flocculation. In this research Botryococcus Braunii microalgae has been co-cultured with a bacterial flocculant to form clumps of easy-harvesting biomass. The growth kinetics of this novel feedstock has been studied for the very first time, based on literature, and its optimum growth conditions have been derived. M.S. in Chemical Engineering, July 2014 Show less
http://www.archive.org/details/oxidationofonitr00eagl Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology; Includes bibliographical references (leaf... Show morehttp://www.archive.org/details/oxidationofonitr00eagl Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology; Includes bibliographical references (leaf 49) and index Show less
Vascularization within biomaterial scaffolds is essential for engineered tissues. A sintering method is investigated in which spherical 106... Show moreVascularization within biomaterial scaffolds is essential for engineered tissues. A sintering method is investigated in which spherical 106-125 micron poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres are used to create porous poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) hydrogels with varying interconnectivity for vascularized tissue invasion. The sintering method resulting in interconnectivity levels that increased with sintering time and temperature. Mechanical testing on hydrogels showed increasing interconnectivity of hydrogels decreases the elastic modulus. A rodent subcutaneous model was used to evaluate influence of hydrogel interconnectivity on in vivo response at 3 and 6 weeks. There was significant difference in tissue invasion between the groups at the two different time points. At week 3, higher interconnectivity hydrogels had twice as much invasion depth compared with the lower interconnectivity. The higher interconnectivity hydrogels had complete vascularization at 3 weeks. In conclusion, a technique for preparation of porous hydrogels with controlled pore interconnectivity has been developed and evaluated. This method has been used to show that higher interconnectivity enables deeper vascularized tissue ingrowth and thus holds great potential for tissue engineering applications. M.S. in Chemical Engineering, May 2014 Show less
http://www.archive.org/details/preparationofzin00bent Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology, 1920 Bibliography: leaves 81-85 B.S. in... Show morehttp://www.archive.org/details/preparationofzin00bent Thesis (B.S.)--Armour Institute of Technology, 1920 Bibliography: leaves 81-85 B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 1920 Show less