Stander Symposium abstract book - University of Dayton

9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
with metal ions, thus stabilizing the metal surface and inhibiting corrosion. Also, when enzymatically treated, L-dopa can participate in crosslinking
reactions, which has been shown to lead to a thicker and more durable protein layer. In this study, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization was
used to characterize the performance of the free amino acid form of L-dopa as a corrosion inhibitor. Mass loss and total charge passed were used
to assess the extent of the corrosion reaction, and in addition, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data was also collected. The results
indicated that L-dopa is ineffective as a corrosion inhibitor when not included as part of a larger polymer, most likely due to insufficient adhesion
to the substrate. Preliminary exposure chamber tests were also done with an unpurified mixture of proteins from Mytilus edulis. The results
indicate that the proteins are inhibiting corrosion effectively for a short amount of time before failing. To increase the effectiveness of the protein,
different incubation conditions will be investigated in the future.
Effects of Pipe Orientation on Multi-phase Flow Patterns
Presenter(s): Heather N Nathaniel
Advisor(s): Robert J Wilkens
Chemical and Materials Engineering - Honors Thesis
Advances in avionics and weaponry are leading to higher thermal loads for next generation military aircraft beyond what traditional PAO coolant
loops can handle. One proposed solution is to use a phase change fluid to capture the additional heat. Due to fluctuating orientation and heat load
transient modeling is critical. As a first step, the focus of this work is to demonstrate the effects of orientation on flow patterns observed visually.
Electricity Generation using Sulfolobus solfataricus in a High-Temperature Microbial Fuel
Cell
Presenter(s): Henry L Aldridge
Advisor(s): Donald A Comfort
Chemical and Materials Engineering - Honors Thesis
Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a developing technology that breaks down organic materials in liquids while generating electricity. They come in
several forms and applications, including: micro-sized for medical implants, sediment for remote sensing and communications, and large-scale for
industrial or environmental remediation. Few studies have looked at MFCs operating over 45ºC. Use of extremophiles as the fuel cell culture allows
for high-temperature applications including industry, deserts, and alien space environments. This project includes the construction and operation
of a membrane-less single chamber microbial fuel cell (ML-SCMFC), using the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus at about 80°C.
The volcanic spring native S. solfataricus was used within a MFC to demonstrate feasibility of an extremely high temperature MFC and characterize
the electrical power parameters from this device. A maximum power density of 25.26 mWm-3 was obtained using a carbon cloth anode and cellobiose
as the substrate. Maximum sustained current densities ranging from 5.63 and 39.9 mAm-2 persisted for 15-30 hour durations. Continued
modifications can potentially improve observed values, including new substrates, inclusion of separators and new anode materials.
Suspension of Solid Mixtures by Mechanical Agitation
Presenter(s): Tianxin Bao
Advisor(s): Eric E Janz, Kevin J Myers
Chemical and Materials Engineering - Graduate Research
Agitation is a critical aspect of many processes, such as food production, mineral processing, and water treatment, with liquid-solid agitators
representing a significant portion of all agitation installations. This research is concerned with solids suspension in a liquid-solid stirred tank at
one particular agitation level just-suspended condition in which no solids rest on the tank base for longer than one to two seconds. The novelty
of this work is that though there have been many studies on the just-suspended speed of uniform solid (solid particles with same shape, size,
and density), there has been very little work in the industrially important area of mixtures of solids with different physical properties. The goal
of this work is to investigate whether sum of the individual solids suspension powers approach can provide a reasonable estimate of mixture
just-suspended speed of solids with different physical characteristics. All tested mixtures of solids with different properties (particle size, shape,
and specific gravity) are categorized into three different groups based on the specific gravities of individual solids in each system: systems where
the specific gravities of both solids are below 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter (i.e. low-density system), both solid densities are above 2.4 grams
per cubic centimeter (i.e. high-density system), and solids of mixed densities - that is, a solid with low density plus a solid with high density. It is
64