No description available.

Gas hydrates are a topic of great interest and intense investigation. Traditionally, these compounds have been seen as a nuisance to the oil and gas industry, which can plug pipelines and cause hours of costly downtime. More recently, gas hydrates have been viewed as a possible energy source due to the vast amount of methane trapped in the form of gas hydrate. Many researchers have also proposed the possibility of transporting natural gas in the form of gas hydrate may be safer and more economical than using liquid or compressed natural gas. Gas hydrate may also offer the possibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions via the sequestration of carbon dioxide. / Surfactants have been found to act as both promoters and inhibitors of hydrate formation. In the present study, the formation rate, solubility and mass transfer conductance of methane in the presence of Gemini surfactant, a new class of surfactants, was studied with varying concentration of Gemini surfactant. The experiments to determine the formation rates of methane hydrate were conducted at 4°C and 6500 kPa. While the experiments to determine solubility and mass conductance were carried out at 4°C and 3800 kPa. The resulting values were used to determine experimental accuracy and reproducibility by comparing the values obtained with literature values and by analyzing the distribution of the data obtained. Solubility measurements were extremely close to literature values with only a 1.4% difference. The distribution of solubility values and formation rates did not deviate significantly between replicates indicating a high degree of reproducibility; however, a lot of variability was observed in mass transfer conductance. This may be attributed to the fact that mass transfer was not determined experimentally by regressing a coefficient to fit a curve, which may be less accurate than other experimentally determined parameters. / In the second part of the study, the formation rate, solubility and mass transfer conductance of methane were determined using aqueous Gemini surfactant solutions. The experiments to determine the formation rates of methane hydrate were conducted at 4°C and 6500 kPa. While the experiments to determine solubility and mass transfer conductance were carried out at 4°C and 3800 kPa. The resulting values were used to determine the effect of Gemini surfactant on the properties of interest by comparing the values obtained with aqueous Gemini surfactant with the values previously obtained for pure water. The results obtained showed that solubility increased with increasing concentrations of Gemini surfactant with solubility increasing by up to 18% for higher concentration of Gemini surfactant. The mass transfer conductance was also found to increase by up to 49%; however other than the existence of an increase, no conclusive relationship could be determined between the concentration of Gemini surfactant and mass transfer conductance. / Finally, the formation rate of gas hydrates was found to decrease slightly, relative to water, at low concentrations, increased linearly at subsequently higher concentrations and ultimately plateau at a maximum. This trend was in agreement with similar experiments found in literature and the increase in formation rate may be attributed to the increase in both solubility and mass transfer conductance when using aqueous Gemini surfactant.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of 209 chemical congeners that are toxic and persistent organic contaminants---they have been present in the environmental for several decades. Sites contaminated with PCBs pose serious health and safety risks to the surrounding environment due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation in creature. Polychlorinated biphenyls were commercially produced complex mixtures for a variety of applications. Before production was discontinued world-wide in 1977, several million tons of PCBs have been directly disposed to the soil. Researchers have been encouraged to develop novel techniques/approaches to detoxify PCB compounds and PCB contaminated soil. Ideally, these methods would be inexpensive, rapid, efficient and environmentally benign. / This study investigated novel approaches/techniques for PCB hydrodechlorination with noble metal catalyst in a continuous hydrogenation system, using a reactor column filled with Pd0/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. Appreciable quantities of PCB compounds or other aromatic compounds were hydrodechlorinated and/or hydrogenated under mild conditions (90°C). The reaction efficiency was virtually complete if sufficient H2 was included in the mobile phase either by pure H2 or supercritical CO 2 combined with 5% H2. / The study also optimized conditions to wash PCBs washing condition from contaminated soil by sonication mixing and outlined an environmentally benign industrial application that combined soil washing with an at line PCBs hydrodechlorination process. The techniques/approaches developed in this study would seem to have a broad application in PCB dechlorination/detoxification and in the remediation of historically contaminated soil/sediments.

Thesis (MScMed)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S. - Watershed Management)--University of Arizona. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Murdoch University, 2007. / Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Sustainability, Environmental and Life Sciences. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [134]-158).

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-74). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Pharmacy))--Mahidol University, 1983.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Biology))--Mahidol University, 1984.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Environmental Biology))--Mahidol University, 1982.