Category: Research

David Shonnard (ChE) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $50,000 Federal grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The project is entitled, “I-Corps: Process Intensification in a Multi-Product Waste Polyolefin Refinery.” Ulises Gracida-Alvarez (ChE) and Nate Yenor (Innovation & Commercialization) are Co-PI’s on this project.

By Sponsored Programs.

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a low-cost and energy-efficient conversion of mixed waste plastics into an intermediate product that the petrochemical industry can convert into new polymer resin.

This new technology will revolutionize the plastics recycling industry and will allow for closed-loop plastic material flows. The process technology will improve recycling of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastics from materials recovery facilities (MRFs), significant because PE and PP comprise over 50% of global plastics production and post-consumer waste generation.

The technology is based on rapid conversion at elevated temperature in a reactor with precise control over the molecular conversion mechanisms.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Robert Handler (ChE/SFI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $24,774 research and development contract with San Diego State University.

The project is titled “Environment Life Cycle Assessment of LEAFs Methane Mitigation System”. This is a two-month project.

Caryn Heldt (ChE/HRI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $201,163 research and development grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The project is entitled, “Dense Phase Electrolytes to Thermally Stabilize Viral Vaccines.” This is a potential two-year project totaling $428,620.

By Sponsored Programs.

David Shonnard (Chem Eng/SFI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $44,982 research and development cooperative agreement with Clemson University. The project is titled, “Life Cycle Assessment and Technoeconomic Analyses of Lignin Processing: (Lignin Fractionation and Valorization: Focusing on both Value and Quality).”

This is the first year of a potential 3-year project totaling $89,964.

Lei Pan is involved in a multidisciplinary project to improve the efficiency of dust scrubbers in mining operations.

His work and that of Virginia Tech researchers and collaborators from Cornell University incorporates new materials that better collect dust and use the continuous miner’s vibrations to help keep the filters from clogging as often.

In 2019 Pan received funding from the Center for Disease Control for the project “Temporal and Spatial Characterization of Respirable Coal Mine Dust Using Area Monitoring Devices and X-Ray CT.”

Mining dust was also the topic of a Michigan Tech URIP (Undergraduate Research Internship Program) project with chemical engineering major Caroline Inaury, funded by the Portage Health Foundation.

Read more at Virginia Tech Daily, by Rosaire Bushey.

Sangareddy: Pradeep K Agrawal, Faculty and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, US, on Monday said biomass be it agriculture waste, forest residues or crop remanants can be used to produce chemicals and fuels. The discarded portion of municipal solid waste (MSW) was another inexpensive resource for producing hydergen and carbon, he said.

Read more at Telangana Today.

Lei Pan (ChemEng/GLRC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $159,999 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is entitled, “Collaborative Research: Bubble Impacting a Curved Surface: A Sustainable Way to Sanitize Produce.”

This is a potential three-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

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Cleaning practices using microbubbles have been proven to be a sustainable and environmentally benign sanitation method in a wide range of industrial applications. When a stream of bubbles impact and slide on a surface, contaminants on the surface can be removed due to the strong force generated by the bubbles.

Bubble-cleaning of agricultural produce like fruits and vegetables has not been studied extensively. Potentially, this method could be used to minimize cases of food poisoning affecting millions of people every year, since bubble streams could be used to remove and inactivate pathogenic microorganisms from produce surfaces.

This research project could lead to a novel technology for an environmentally benign sanitization process for raw fruits and vegetables. The method could even be applied to other technological processes such as semiconductor manufacturing.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Lei Pan is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $293,614 research and development contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The project is entitled, “Temporal and Spatial Characterization of Respirable Coal Mine Dust Using Area Monitoring Devices and X-Ray CT.” This is a potential two-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.