La qualité de l’air extérieur (QAE) a fait l’objet d’une législation dès 1996 avec la loi LAURE. Depuis 2008, la directive européenne 2008/50/CE a instauré des obligations de mesure et de seuils à ne pas dépasser pour certains polluants à l’échelle européenne. Selon de nombreuses données toxicologiques et épidémiologiques, la pollution de l’air est à l’origine d’insuffisances respiratoires, d’asthme, de maladies cardiovasculaires et de cancers.Les composés organiques volatils (COV) et notamment le benzène, le toluène, l’ethylbenzène et les xylènes (les composés BTEX) sont des polluants avérés et participent grandement à la dégradation de la qualité de l’air intérieur et extérieur. Ce travail de thèse a concerné la réalisation d’un multicapteur de gaz à base d’oxyde métallique pour la détection de traces de BTEX dans le cadre du projet SMARTY (SMart AiR qualiTY). Un système de caractérisation électrique complet a été conçu et mise au point pour la détection de très faibles concentrations de BTEX (le ppb). Après une étude bibliographique, plusieurs matériaux ont été sélectionnés (WO3, ZnO, SnO2). Les caractérisations électriques des couches sensibles sélectionnées ont été effectuées sous air sec et sous différents taux d’humidité en présence de BTEX et de gaz interférents (NO2, CO2). Le WO3 a montré les meilleures performances en présence d’humidité et a été choisi pour le transfert de technologie qui accompagne les nouveaux transducteurs brevetés AMU. Le multicapteur à base de WO3 a montré une détection limite de 1 ppb sous 50% d’humidité relative et a permis de détecter et de quantifier de manière efficace les BTEX. / Outdoor air quality is subjected to the law LAURE since 1996. In 2008, the european directive 2008/50/EC introduced measurement requirements and thresholds that should not be exceeded for certain pollutants on a european scale. According to several toxicological and epidemiological studies, air pollution causes respiratory failure, asthma, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. In Europe, air pollution is responsible for more than 300 000 early deaths a year.Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX compounds) are proven pollutants and play a major role in the degradation of indoor and outdoor air quality. This thesis is dedicated to the development of a metal oxide based multi-gas sensor for the detection of traces of BTEX within the framework of the SMARTY project (SMart AiR qualiTY). A complete electrical characterization system was designed and implemented for the detection of sub-ppm concentrations of BTEX.Based on the state-of-art, several materials were selected (WO3, ZnO, SnO2). The electrical characterizations of the selected sensitive layers were carried out under dry air and under different humidity levels in the presence of BTEX and interfering gases (NO2, CO2). Tungsten oxide (WO3) exhibits the best performance in the presence of moisture and is chosen for the technology transfer that accompanies the new patented AMU transducers. The WO3-based multi-sensor has a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 1 ppb at 50% relative humidity and effectively detects and quantifies BTEX.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T14:57:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lucio_ paulo.pdf: 1888833 bytes, checksum: 7e440f531baf7b1f6f7f1d8c2cd63b02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The direct pulp capping aims to protect the pulp by a bioactive material, allowing the maintenance of pulp vitality and the formation of mineralized barrier. The objective of this study was histologically comparing the pulp response of different materials, for continuity and morphology of the mineralized structure. It was 108 (one hundred and eight) teeth of 54 (fifty-four) male Wistar rats, eight (8) weeks old. Circular cavities were prepared in mesio-occlusal surface of the upper first molars and capped in accordance with the Group, which included the animal: group 1 with calcium hydroxide (CH); Group 2: MTA and group 3: Biodentine®. All cavities were sealed with cement resin modified glass ionomer cement (3M Vitremer -ESPE) and the animals euthanized at predetermined periods of seven (7), fourteen (14) and 21 (twenty one) days. The jaws were removed and fixed slides prepared and stained with HE (hematoxylin and eosin) for descriptive histological evaluation of inflammation and the formation of mineralized barrier. The results showed that the MTA and the Biodentine® exhibit less intense inflammatory reactions when compared to the CH, and the statistical comparison (Kruskal-Wallis) of formation and quality of the formed dentin barrier statistically different at 21 days between the CH groups for MTA and Biodentine, which were similar to each other. It can be concluded that the MTA and Biodentine® induce mineralized architecture of a more continuous and uniform barrier and less intense when compared to pulp response to CH. / O capeamento pulpar direto visa à proteção da polpa por um material bioativo que permita a manutenção da vitalidade pulpar e a formação de barreira mineralizada. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi comparar histologicamente a resposta pulpar frente a materiais dentários, quanto à continuidade e morfologia da estrutura mineralizada. Foram utilizados 108 (cento e oito) dentes de 54 (cinquenta e quatro) ratos Wistar, machos com 8 (oito) semanas de idade. Cavidades circulares foram preparadas na face mesio-oclusal dos primeiros molares superiores e capeadas de acordo com o grupo ao qual pertencia o animal: grupo 1: com hidróxido de cálcio (CH); grupo 2: MTA e grupo 3: Biodentine®. Todas as cavidades foram seladas com cimento de ionômero de vidro modificado por resina (Vitremer 3M ESPE) e os animais eutanasiados em períodos predeterminados de 7 (sete), 14 (quatorze) e 21(vinte e um) dias. Posteriormente as maxilas removidas, fixadas e confeccionadas lâminas coradas H.E. (Hematoxilina e Eosina) para avaliação histológica descritiva da inflamação e da formação da barreira mineralizada. Os resultados demostraram que o MTA e o Biodentine® promovem reações inflamatórias menos intensas quando comparados ao CH. A comparação estatística (Kruskal-Wallis) da formação e da qualidade da barreira de dentina formada demonstrou diferença estatística aos 21 dias entre os grupos de CH para o MTA e Biodentine, e estes dois últimos similares entre si. Pode-se concluir que o MTA e o Biodentine® induzem a arquitetura de uma barreira mineralizada mais contínua e uniforme e a uma resposta pulpar menos intensa quando comparados ao CH.

Porté par les préoccupations actuelles en matière de sécurité et de qualité environnementale ainsi que par les efforts de recherche entrepris dans ce domaine, le marché mondial des capteurs de gaz est en pleine expansion. Dans le contexte de la commercialisation d'un capteur de gaz, une phase d'amélioration de ses performances, et notamment de sa sensibilité et de sa stabilité, est naturellement nécessaire. Cependant, il s'avère également pertinent d'envisager d'en diminuer le coût de fabrication. Pour cela, il convient de développer une technologie utilisant d'une part des matériaux bas coût et d'autre part permettant de réduire la consommation électrique du dispositif. Dans cette optique, ce travail de thèse a porté sur la réalisation et la caractérisation d'un capteur de gaz oxyde semi-conducteur entièrement basé sur le tungstène et le trioxyde de tungstène pour la détection d'hydrogène sulfuré en milieu industriel. Le principal onjectif était de fabriquer un capteur faible coût en utilisant des techniques d'élaboration simples et des matériaux peu onéreux. Pour cela, notre travail a consisté, dans un premier temps, à développer un élément chauffant en tungstène pouvant fonctionner jusqu'à 500°C. Les procédés mis au point pour la conception de l'élément chauffant ont été utilisés dans l'élaboration des électrodes permettant de mesurer la résistance électrique du film de trioxyde de tungstène. Ensuite, nous avons travaillé sur l'optimisation du procédé de pulvérisation cathodique radio fréquence pour l'élaboration de l'élément sensible en trioxyde de tungstène. Des essais sous gaz ont montré des résultats prometteurs pour la détection d'hydrogène, de dioxyde d'azote et d'ammoniac. / Driven by current safety and environmental quality concerns and research efforts in this area, the global market for gas sensors is expanding rapidly. In the context of the marketing of a gas sensor, a phase of improvement in its performance, and in particular its sensitivity and stability, is naturally necessary. However, it is also relevant to consider reducing the cost of manufacturing. To achieve this, it is necessary to develop a technology that uses low-cost materials and reduces the device's power consumption. In this perspective, this thesis work focused on the realization and characterization of a semiconductor oxide gas sensor entirely based on tungsten and tungsten trioxide for the detection of hydrogen sulfide in an industrial environment. The main objective was to manufacturate a low-cost sensor using simple processing techniques and low-cost materials. To achieve this, our work initially consisted in developing a tungsten heating element that can operate up to 500°C. The processes developed for the conception of the heating element were used in the development of the electrodes for measuring the electrical resistance of the tungsten trioxide film. Then, we worked on the optimization of the radio frequency sputtering process for the development of the tungsten trioxide sensing element. Gas measurements have shown promising results for the detection of hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide and ammonia.

Antimony trioxide (Sb203) and halogenated additives are used together in flameretarded formulations due to their synergistic retardant properties. A study has been made to determine the effects of adding different grades of Sb203 (dSD particle sizes 0.11 um, 0.52um and 1.31 um) into ABS polymer either alone or with commercial brominated materials (BTBPE, TBBA, DBDPO) and an experimental bromine grade (sDBDPO). The Sb20 3 was added at 4wt% loadings and the bromines at 20wt% loadings. The results consider the influence of the additives on processing, mechanical, morphological and flame retardant properties. All compounds were produced using a twin-screw co-rotating extruder and then an injection moulder was used to mould notched impact (falling weight testing), flexural, LOI and UL-94 flame test bars. Samples of all the compounded formulations were titrated to determine Sb20 3 and Br contents. Fracture surface, morphology, size and dispersion analysis was carried out using both SEM and TEM equipment. Osmium tetroxide (OS04) staining was used to determine relative locations of filler particles and polybutadiene phase. Additions of the different antimony trioxide grades showed that the 0.52um and 1.31 um grades lowered impact energy absorption (-25 to -30%) when added at 4wt% loading. The use of a sub-micron size grade (0.1 um) did not significantly lower impact properties (-3%) and had similarly small effects on the flexural modulus and flexural strength. Additions of the brominated materials had much greater effects causing large reductions in impact properties (-20 to :70%). The presence of the bromines generally increased flexural modulus and lowered flexural strength with the exception of TB BA, which increased both modulus and strength. Compounds containing both 1.31 um Sb203 and bromines suffered a further reduction in impact energies, with the bromine properties dominating. Using the 0.1 um Sb20 3 grade again improved impact and flexural properties compared to the 1.31 um grade. The 0.1 um grade resulted in improvements in fire resistance as measured by the UL-94 properties when used with all bromine grades.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this work we primarily set out to investigate the technique of Aqueous Chemical Growth as a means of producing WO3 thin films that find applications in gas sensing and electrochromism. For the first time we demonstrated in this work, the heterogenous nucleation and growth of WO3 thin films on plain glass substrates and F-doped SnO2-glass substrates. This was achieved without the use of surfactants and template directing methods, using as a precursor solution Peroxotungstic Acid generated from the action of 30% H2O2 on pure W powder. The substrates used needed no surface-modification. On the plain glass substrates (soda lime silicates) a variety of micronanostructures could be observed prime of which were nanoplatelets that acted as a basic building block for the self-assembly of more hierarchical 3-d microspheres and thin films. On FTO a wide variety of micro-/nanostructures were observed dominant amongst which were urchin-like microspheres. The dominant crystallographic structure observed (through X-ray diffraction analysis, SAED, HRTEM) for the WO3 thin films on both substrate types post-annealing at 500 ˚C for a period of 1 - 2 h, was hexagonal-WO3. Next was monoclinic WO3. On rarer occasions the formation of triclinic and cubic WO3 was observed. The thin films produced showed a fairly high degree of porosity and had thicknesses in the range of 900 nm - 3.5 μm. I-V characterisation measurements using a 4-point collinear probe Keithley source alongside photoluminescence was used to establish the insulating nature of some of the films as well as their sub-stoichiometric nature. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy was used to confirm the substoichiometric nature of some of the films.

Submitted by MARCIA ROVADOSCHI (marciar@unifra.br) on 2018-08-16T19:52:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_MauberEduardoSchultzMoreira.pdf: 14104089 bytes, checksum: cdd198bace6b9a1b1e4ce9262baded58 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T19:52:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Dissertacao_MauberEduardoSchultzMoreira.pdf: 14104089 bytes, checksum: cdd198bace6b9a1b1e4ce9262baded58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-23 / Cancer is a public health problem of great impact. Relapses require higher doses of drugs or new approaches to minimizing toxicity. The use of liposome-based carrier systems pharmaceuticals may be an alternative by the use of the enhanced permeability and retention effect present in the tumor area. The aim of this project was to develop and characterize liposomes containing arsenic trioxide (ATO). They were prepared according reverse phase evaporation method using ethyl acetate (EA) as solvent followed by ultrasonication with probe to reduce the size and homogenization. In determining the arsenic, titanium and residual EA we used Atomic Absorption Spectrometry with Graphite Furnace (GF- AAS), Mass Spectrometry Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP -MS) and Gas Chromatography coupled to mass detector (GC-MS), respectively. We also carried out stability studies with formulations being subjected to room temperature (25° C), cooling (4 to 8° C) and climate chamber (40° C and 60% humidity) for a period of 90 days. Cytotoxicity assays were performed by the method of reduction of 3- (4,5) dimetiltialzoil 2,5 - diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). Data of physical-chemical characterization showed that the best condition was sonication with a power of 750 W, 40% amplitude and cycles of 8 seconds on and 2 seconds off, to avoid overheating. The average particle size was 87.5±1.07 nm and polydispersity index (IPD) 0.28±0.03 for liposomes blank (BL) and 71.17±0.06 nm and 0.29±0.04 for liposomes containing TOA (LAs / LAS). TOA content of LAs was 1.0 mg ml-1 and the encapsulation efficiency (%EE) of 7,43±0.72%. ICP-MS showed the presence of titanium in the formulation and the determination of the residual solvent was below the tolerable limit. The stability study showed that formulations remained stable over a period of 30 days, regardless of storage condition wherein the stored under refrigeration remained stable for 60 days. Cytotoxicity assays with MTT revealed that in 72 hours the LB, AE and the buffer did not exercise death activity. The reverse phase evaporation method followed by ultrasonication appears to be suitable for obtaining liposomal vesicles containing arsenic trioxide . / Câncer é um problema de saúde pública de grande impacto. As recidivas necessitam de doses maiores de fármacos ou de novas abordagens para minimizar a toxicidade. O uso de sistemas carreadores de fármacos baseados em lipossomas pode ser uma alternativa por fazer uso do efeito permeabilidade e retenção aumentada presente na área do tumor. O objetivo desta dissertação foi desenvolver e caracterizar lipossomas contendo trióxido de arsênio (TOA). Foi utilizado o método de evaporação em fase reversa com solvente acetato de etila (AE) seguido de ultrassonicação com sonda para reduzir o tamanho e homogeinização. Na determinação do arsênio, titânio e acetato de etila residual utilizaram-se as técnicas de Espectrometria de Absorção Atômica com Forno de Grafite (GF- AAS), Espectrometria de Massa com Plasma Indutivamente Acoplado (ICP-MS) e Cromatografia a Gás acoplado a detector de massa (GCMS), respectivamente. Foi realizado também estudo de estabilidade com as formulações sendo submetidas a temperatura ambiente (25°C), refrigeração (4 a 8°C) e câmara climática (40°C e umidade de 60%), por um período de 90 dias. Os ensaios de citotoxicidade foram realizados pelo método de redução do 3-(4,5) dimetiltialzoil-2,5 difeniltetrazolium (MTT). Os dados da caracterização físico-química mostraram que a melhor condição de sonicação foi com potência de 750 W, amplitude de 40% e ciclos de 8 segundos ligado e 2 segundos desligado, para evitar o aquecimento. O tamanho médio foi de 87,5 ± 1,07 nm e índice de polidispersão (IPD) 0,28 ± 0,03 para os lipossomas branco (LB) e 71,17 ± 0,06 nm e 0,29 ± 0,04 para os lipossomas contendo TOA (LAs/LAS), respectivamente. O teor de TOA nos LAs foi de 1,0 mg mL-1 e a eficiência de encapsulação (%EE) de 7,43 ± 0,72%. O ICP-MS revelou a presença de titânio nas formulações e a determinação do solvente residual ficou abaixo do limite tolerável. O estudo de estabilidade mostrou que as formulações permaneceram estáveis por um período de 30 dias, independente da condição de armazenamento, sendo que as armazenadas sob refrigeração permaneceram estáveis por 60 dias. Os ensaios de citotoxicidade com MTT revelaram que em 72 horas os LB, AE e a solução tampão não exerceram atividade de morte. O método de evaporação em fase reversa seguido de ultrassonicação parece ser adequado para a obtenção de vesículas lipossomais contendo trióxido de arsênio.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:30:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_manuela_goncalves_souza_silva.pdf: 695185 bytes, checksum: ac5e243b1622d4637c83c8336c8cd119 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-19 / The aim of this study was synthesize a new salicylate derivative and evaluated it in composition to experimental calcium-based root canal sealers. Two salicylate derivatives were synthesize by the transesterification of a methyl salycilate with two different alcohols (1,3-butylenoglicol and pentaerythritol) in molar ratio 1:3 and 1:6, respectively. The products, butileneglyvol disalicylate (BD) and pentaerythritol tetrasalicylate (PT), were characterized by FTIR and RMN. Calcium-based experimental sealers were formulated with different concentrations of BD and PT (40/0, 35/5, 30/10 and 20/20). The experimental sealers were evaluated for setting time, solubility (24 hours, 7, 14 and 30 days), diametral tensile strength and Young s Modulus. Data were analyzed by One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA and Tukey s test. The addition of PT reduced the materials setting times. After 24 hours the sealer 40/0 and 35/5 had higher solubility, after 14 and 28 days the sealer 20/20 showed the lowest solubility. After 7 days de sealer 20/20 stabilized its solubility. The sealer 40/0 presented the highest values and the 20/20 present de lowest values of diametral tensile strength and Young s modulus. The addition of PT to calcium-based endodontic sealers provides benefits to the properties tested / O objetivo deste estudo foi sintetizar um novo composto derivado de salicilato empregando-o no desenvolvimento de cimentos endodônticos experimentais a base de cálcio. Dois derivados de salicilato foram sintetizados através da reação de trans esterificação do salicilato de metila com diferentes alcoóis (1,3-butilenoglicol e pentaeritritol) na proporção molar de 1:3 e 1:6, respectivamente. Os produtos, butilenoglicol dissalicilato (BD) e pentaeritritol tetrassalicilato (PT) foram caracterizados por FTIR e RMN. Cimentos experimentais a base de cálcio foram formulados com diferentes concentrações de BD e PT (40/0, 35/5, 30/10 e 20/20). Os cimentos foram avaliados quanto ao tempo de presa, à solubilidade (24 horas, 7,14 e 28 dias), resistência à tração diametral e ao módulo de elasticidade. Os dados foram analisados através de ANOVA uma via, ANOVA duas vias e Teste de Tukey. A adição de PT reduziu o tempo de presa dos materiais testados. Após 24 horas os cimentos 40/0 e 35/5 apresentavam maior solubilidade que os demais; após 14 e 28 dias o cimento 20/20 foi o que apresentou menor solubilidade e após 7 dias o grupo PB 20/20 estabilizou a sua solubilidade, enquanto os demais continuaram progressivamente a liberação de seus componentes. O cimento 40/0 apresentou os maiores valores e o cimento 20/20 apresentou os menores valores de resistência à tração diametral e módulo de elasticidade. A adição de PT a cimentos à base de cálcio possibilita benefícios às propriedades testadas

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂), a well-known pollutant emitted from fossil fuel combustion, has major adverse health and environmental impacts. It is harmful at low concentration with a permissible exposure limit of two ppm for the eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA) value. Fortunately, its atmospheric concentration, like other air pollutants, has gradually reduced in Canada in the past years. However, despite the well-established flue gas desulfurization technologies, they have the disadvantages of being energy-intensive, not very efficient to achieve very low concentrations (at ppm level) and they operate at high temperatures. Moreover, emission standards are becoming more stringent. Novel methods are therefore investigated to capture SO₂, such as adsorption processes using zeolites and metal oxides (e.g., Iron (Fe) and Vanadium (V) based) which tend to sustain wide ranges of temperatures and pressures. Graphene oxide (GO) was also shown to physisorb SO₂ at low temperatures. In this work, we propose to metal functionalize GO as a step forward on the path for efficient SO₂ capture, by promoting the SO₂ oxidation reaction into sulfur trioxide (SO₃) for increased capacity due to a possible higher affinity with the surface. The GO has a high surface area, high porosity, and controllable surface chemistry. The aim is to achieve outlet concentration of SO₂ as low as 1 ppm through combined physisorption and reaction promoted that the presence of GO and metal, at low operating temperature. Iron oxide functionalized GO was synthesized using two different techniques: a polyol process (GO-FeₓOᵧ-P) and using a hydrolysis method (GO-FeₓOᵧ-H). The characterization analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), performed on the materials before and after SO₂ reaction show changes on the surface due to metal adding and to the sulfur capture. The breakthrough curves and the capacity calculations of the performed experiments have shown that with the addition of FeₓOᵧ on the surface of GO, the capturing capacity increases by a factor of three to four, indicating a possible change in the capturing mechanism. The evaluation of the temperature effect (from room temperature to 100℃) showed an increasing trend in the capture capacity for SO₂ with an increase in temperature, for both functionalized and non-functionalized GO, indicating it is not driven only by surface adsorption. The presence of sulfur species captured from the gas stream has been confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDXS) analysis. The future work would be focused on the investigation of the mechanisms and capturing phenomenon and the regeneration step for the materials in order to further improve the capturing capacity and process applicability.

No description available.

The world energy supply and demand, together with limited available resources have resulted in the need to develop alternative energy sources to ensure sustainable and expanding economies. Hydrogen is being considered a viable option with particular application to fuel cells. The Hybrid Sulphur cycle has been identified as a process to produce clean hydrogen (carbon free process) and can have economic benefits when coupled to nuclear reactors (High Temperature Gas Reactor) or solar heaters for the supply of the required process energy. The sulphur trioxide decomposition reactor producing sulphur dioxide for the electrolytic cells in a closed loop system has been examined, but it is clear that development with respect to a more durable active catalyst in a reactor operating under severe conditions needs to be investigated. A suitable sulphur trioxide reactor needs to operate at a high temperature with efficient heating in view of the endothermic reaction, and has to consist of special materials of construction to handle the very corrosive reactants and products. This investigation was undertaken to address (1) the synthesis, characterisation, reactivity and stability of a suitable catalyst (2), determination the reaction rate of the chosen catalyst with a suitable micro reactor (3) construction and evaluation of a packed bed reactor for the required reaction, and (4) the development and validation of a reactor model using computational fluid dynamics with associated chemical reactions. A supported catalyst consisting of 0.5 wt% platinum and 0.5 wt% palladium on rutile (TiO2, titania) was prepared by the sintering of an anatase/rutile supported catalyst with the same noble metal composition, synthesized according to an incipient impregnation procedure using cylindrical porous pellets (±1.7 mm diameter and ±5 mm long). Characterization involving: surface area, porosity, metal composition, - dispersion, - particle size, support phase and sulphur content was carried out and it was found from reactivity determinations that the sintered catalyst, which was very different from the synthesized catalyst, had an acceptable activity and stability which was suitable for further evaluation. A micro pellet reactor was constructed and operated and consisted of a small number of pellets (five) placed apart from each other in a two-stage quartz reactor with sulphur trioxide generated from sulphuric acid in the first stage and the conversion of sulphur trioxide in the second stage, respectively. Attention was only confined to the second stage involving the conversion of sulphur trioxide with the supported catalyst. The overall reaction kinetics of the pellets involving momentum, heat and mass transfer and chemical reaction was evaluated and validated with constants obtained from literature and with an unknown reaction rate equation for which constants were obtained by regression. As result of the complexity of the flow, mass and heat transfer fields in the micro pellet reactor it was necessary to use a CFD model with chemical reactions which was accomplished with a commercial code COMSOL MultiPhysics® 4.3b. A reversible reaction rate equation was used and a least squares regression procedure was used to evaluate the activation energy and pre-exponential factor. The activation energy obtained for the first order forward reaction was higher than values obtained from literature for a first order reaction rate (irreversible reaction) for the platinum group metals on titania catalysts. Detailed analyses of the velocity, temperature and concentration profile revealed the importance of using a complex model for determination of the reaction parameters. A fixed bed reactor system consisting of a sulphuric acid vaporizer, a single reactor tube (1 m length, 25 mm OD) heated with a surrounding electrical furnace followed, by a series of condensers for the analysis of the products was constructed and operated. Three process variables were investigated, which included the inlet temperature, the weight hourly velocity and the residence time in order to assess the performance of the reactor and generate results for developing a model. The results obtained included the wall and reactor centreline temperature profiles together with average conversion. As a result of the complexity of the chemistry and the phases present containing the products from the reactor a detailed calculation was done using vapour/liquid equilibrium with the accompanying mass balance (Aspen-Plus®) to determine the distribution of sulphur trioxide, sulphur dioxide, oxygen and steam. A mass balance was successfully completed with analyses including SO2 with a GC, O2 with a paramagnetic cell analyser, acid/base titrations with sodium hydroxide, SO2 titrations with iodine and measurement of condensables (mass and volume). The results obtained showed that a steady state (constant conversion) was obtained after approximately six hours and that it was possible to obtain sulphur trioxide conversion approaching equilibrium conditions for bed lengths of 100 mm with very low weight hourly space velocities. A heterogeneous 2D model consisting of the relevant continuity, momentum, heat transfer and mass transfer and the reaction rate equation determined in this investigation was developed and solved with the use of the commercial code COMSOL MultiPhysics® 4.3b with an appropriate mesh structure. The geometry of the packed bed (geometry) was accomplished by generating a randomly packed bed with a commercial package DigiPac™. The model predicted results that agreed with experimental results with conversions up to 56%, obtained over the following ranges: weight hourly space velocity equal to 15 h-1, temperatures between 903 K and 1053 K and residence times between 0.1 and 0.07 seconds. The post-processing results were most useful for assessing the effect of the controlling mechanisms and associated parameters. / PhD (Chemical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014