Thesis (doctoral)--Université René Descartes, 1972.

Inaugural dissertation (Ph. D.)--Universität Bern. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.M.E.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Suresh G. Advani, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2005. / Principal faculty advisor: Suresh G. Advani, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ch.E.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Richard P. Wool, Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-63). Also available via the Internet.

Master of Science / Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering / Donghai Wang / Gums are water-soluble polysaccharides used in many industrial and food applications because of their functions such as thickening, gelling, emulsification, adhesion, and encapsulation. Interactions between gums are conducted to enhance functional properties of finished products and reduce processing costs. In this study, camelina gum, from the oil-seed plant Camelina sativa, is characterized by carbohydrate composition and morphological, thermal, and rheological properties. Interactions with xanthan gum, galactomannans guar gum, and locust bean gum (LBG) are also studied. Camelina gum is composed of arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, glucose, xylose and mannose; according to high-performance anion exchange chromatography analysis. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images showed camelina gum with fibrillar structure and intermeshed network. Camelina gum solutions exhibited a shear thinning flow behavior in a range of concentrations (0.1% to 2.0% w/w) and shear rate (0.001 sˉ¹ to 3000 sˉ¹). Camelina gum is temperature independent at temperature ranges from 4 °C to 90 °C. The apparent viscosity increased as gum concentration increased. Mechanical properties of camelina gum demonstrated viscoelastic behavior with entangled molecular chains. Interaction of camelina gum with monovalent salt NaCl significantly reduced the viscosity of camelina gum solution at 1% when NaCl concentration increased. Camelina gum is soluble in water up to 60% ethanol content, in which the rheological properties do not significantly differ from camelina gum in water solution only. A synergy with xanthan and galactomannans was determined. All mixtures exhibited shear-thinning flow behavior, solid-like behavior at low frequencies, and liquid-like behavior at high frequencies. For camelina-galactomannans mixtures, synergistic interactions occurred in LBG-camelina mixtures at ratios of 1:1 and 3:1. For xanthan-camelina mixture, maximum synergy was observed at the ratio 1:1. Synergistic effects of gum mixtures suggest dependency on the ratios and chemical structures of the gums. The effect of temperature on apparent viscosity of mixtures is not significant. Results showed that camelina gum can be used for commercial applications.

The phenolic resin chemistry is an old chemistry that started in the late 1800’s. A lot of research work to gain understanding of phenolic resins has been done and reported in literature. However, most of the studies are based on phenol novolac resins. It was necessary to acquire more knowledge on specifically o-cresol novolac (OCN) resins because of the interest in the production of these resins. The chemistry in question was new to Sasol and one of the major objectives of doing this work was to build in-house competency in this field. This was achieved by first investigating whether the available feed materials containing certain impurities can be used to synthesise o-cresol novolacs with set specifications of purity and physical characteristics. The suitability of the Sasol o-cresol in terms of its contamination with sulfur (which is sometimes found in relatively higher amounts due to operating conditions) was investigated. The results showed that the sulfur in o-cresol did not have a significant contribution in the sulfur of the OCN. Another contaminant, formic acid, an auto-oxidation product found in formalin solutions was also investigated. It was also observed that, at formic acid levels of up to 4000 ppm, there was no effect on the softening point of the OCN. Secondly, it was important to study and understand the effect of different reaction variables on the quality of the OCN resins. The effect of formaldehyde: o-cresol molar ratio was investigated, the softening point increased with the increase in the molar ratio. The effects of other reaction variables (catalyst, reaction time, temperature and formaldehyde feed rate) on the softening point of the OCN were also investigated using p-toluenesulfonic acid and oxalic acid as catalysts. With p-toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst, the temperature had no effect on the softening point, while all the other variables showed an effect on this parameter. A softening point model was formulated, which predicted the softening point with 98% accuracy. With oxalic acid, only the amount of catalyst had an effect. In addition, the chemical structures of these compounds were studied using 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The focus was on the isomer distribution of the methylene linkages. / Prof. D.B.G. Williams

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (M Eng (Chemical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted