Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 65 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 60-64).

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Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-101).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Co-Chair: Hud, Nicholas; Committee Co-Chair: Radhakrishna, Harish; Committee Member: Doyle, Donald; Committee Member: Fahrni, Christoph; Committee Member: McCarty, Nael. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (MScEng (Process Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Sequestration of carbon dioxide, CO2, has received large interest as a viable option for mitigating the high atmospheric concentrations of this greenhouse gas. Each year 25 gigatons of anthropogenic CO2 (7.3 GtC/yr) are released into the earth’s atmosphere with the combustion of fossil fuels being the major contributing source. Research in the field of sequestration technology involves evaluating various geological structures as possible reservoirs, determining adsorption capacities of natural formations and developing methods for carbon dioxide injection and the monitoring thereof. Identified potential CO2 reservoirs for geological carbon sequestration (GCS) include saline formations, depleted oil and gas fields and deep coal seams. Carbon dioxide sequestration in coal seams provides the economic opportunity of enhanced coalbed methane (CH4) recovery (ECBM). In South Africa, some coal seams are considered a viable option for long term CO2 sequestration projects as they are abundant and closely situated to South Africa’s largest concentrated CO2 point sources. Many studies have been conducted to determine the sorption capacities for methane and carbon dioxide gases on various coals from around the world; however, similar data have not been recorded for South African coals. The objectives of this study are to determine the adsorption capacities for methane and carbon dioxide of three South African coals over a pressure range of 0 – 50 bar. In the study, single-component gas adsorption experiments were conducted and the absolute adsorption capacities are reported. Isothermal adsorption experiments were conducted using both the volumetric and gravimetric methods with the volumetric apparatus pressure range extending up to 50 bar and the gravimetric apparatus up to 20 bar. Carbon dioxide adsorption capacities are much higher than the methane adsorption capacities, which are expected. Gravimetric experiments produce greater adsorption capacities than the volumetric method. However, the relative CO2/CH4 ratios for each coal, as well as the relative CO2/CO2 ratios between coals, remain almost identical. The difference in adsorption capacity is attributed to the strength of the vacuum pump used on each apparatus. The gravimetric apparatus makes use of a much stronger vacuum pump which can thus evacuate the coal pores more adequately than in the volumetric apparatus. The methane and carbon dioxide adsorption capacities of the three moisture-free coals compare well with literature data. The adsorption isotherms fit conventional adsorption models (the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption equations) extremely well thus indicating that monolayer adsorption takes place. Since no internationally recognised testing standards are in place regarding adsorption procedures on coal, it is very difficult to compare adsorption results presented in the literature. Respective researchers determine their own experimental conditions for the many variables in coal adsorption studies. It is recommended that international testing standards be set in place to make coal research comparable. Such efforts would aid the development of a coal adsorption database, another recommendation, which would advance sequestration technology exchange and eliminate duplication of research efforts. The objectives of the project were achieved by determining the absolute adsorption capacities for carbon dioxide and methane gas of the three South African coals within a pressure range of 0 – 50 bar. Further work is required to investigate adsorption capacities of South African coals under supercritical conditions (above 73 bar abs and 31.1 oC).

Mineralization has the potential to capture CO₂. In nature, mineralization is the chemical weathering of alkaline-earth minerals in which stable carbonate minerals are formed, which leads to the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The adsorptive carbonation reaction of olivine ((Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄)), consisting mainly of pure magnesium silicate (Mg₂SiO₄), a main constituent of the Earth’s crust, was carried out to estimate its potential application to the separation of CO₂ in the presence of water vapor in combustion plumes. Based on the thermodynamics for a basis of the reaction mechanism, the olivine carbonation reaction is thermodynamically favorable. Water vapor was found to play an important role in improving the carbonation rate, and experimental results revealed that carbon dioxide carbon dioxide can bind into olivine minerals to form highly stable surface carbonates. The reaction activity of olivine and pure Mg₂SiO₄ in the presence/absence of water vapor was carried out by varying the temperature, reactant concentrations, and space time. Based on changes in CO₂ concentration with time, the reaction kinetic model of pure Mg₂SiO₄carbonation was developed. The reaction order was found to be approximately 1 for CO₂. The activation energy derived for the Arrhenius equation of Mg₂SiO₄-based carbonation is 76.2 ± 4.8 kJ/mol based on the changes in the reaction rates with temperature in the range of 150-200°C. To investigate the molecular reaction mechanism of CO₂ adsorption on the metal oxide surface, forming carbonates, we performed the quantum mechanical calculation of CO₂ adsorption on a CaO (100) surface. It shows that CO₂ molecules strongly react with the CaO surface due to its high reactivity and high basicity. Consequently, this study will basically lay the groundwork for the chemical mechanism of mineral carbonation of olivine with carbon dioxide in the presence of water vapor and as provide relevant information for the practical application of CO₂ sequestration by stable adsorption on mineral silicates.

LPA1 lysophosphatidic acid receptors (LPA1Rs) are normally present on the surface of the cell. Our initial findings were that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (atorvastatin and mevastatin) induce the sequestration of the G protein-coupled LPA1R in recycling endosomes, most likely by inhibiting the recycling of tonically internalized receptors. Whereas, co-addition of geranylgeranylpyrophosphate (GGPP) or geranylgeraniol (GGOH) prevented atorvastatin-induced sequestration of LPA1Rs, the geranylgeranyltransferase-I inhibitor, GGTI-298, mimicked atorvastatin and induced LPA1R sequestration. This suggested that statin-induced endosomal sequestration was caused by defective protein prenylation. The likely targets of atorvastatin and GGTI-298 are the Rho family GTPases, RhoC and RhoA, since both inhibitors greatly reduced the abundance of these GTPases and since knockdown of endogenous RhoC or RhoA with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) led to endosomal sequestration of LPA1R. Knockdown of RhoC was much more potent at inducing endosomal sequestration than knockdown of either RhoA or RhoB. In contrast, atorvastatin, GGTI-298, siRNA against RhoA, B, or C did not alter the internalization or recycling of transferrin receptors, indicating that recycling of transferrin receptors is distinct from LPA1Rs. Thus, these results, for the first time, implicate RhoA and RhoC in endocytic recycling of LPA1Rs and identify atorvastatin and GGTI-298 as novel inhibitors of this process. / Per the request of the author and advisor, and with the approval of the Graduate Education office, the following changes were made to this thesis: Replaced original page 1 with Errata Page 2. Replaced original pages 3-28 with Errata Pages 3 – 16. Replaced original pages 69-71 with Errata pages 17 – 19.