Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-132).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from PDF file main screen (viewed on Dec. 14, 2009). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Photonics and Plasmas, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta." Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The catalytic partial oxidation of methane to produce synthesis gas using a platinum/nickel dual bed reactor has been shown to have high conversions and selectivity of synthesis gas products, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. In this work the relative length of the platinum and nickel in the dual bed reactor is investigated experimentally and a model describing the nickel portion of the dual bed catalyst is developed. The model uses simplified flow conditions, experimentally determined temperature profiles and an elementary reaction mechanism to describe the nickel bed of the reactor. The rate parameters of the elementary reaction in the mechanism are determined using theoretical methods. Unity Bond Index - Quadratic Exponential Potential (UBI-QEP) is used to determine the activation energy and thermodynamic consistency is forced to produce a set of preexponential factors.

No description available.

No description available.

This work takes a closer look at ceria catalyst synthesis through micelle self-assembly. We compare surfactants, precursors, solvent systems, and doping. The surfactants are the building blocks upon which the ceria can crystallize. The samples are calcinated to test their thermal stability. Characterization is performed using pXRD as well as physisorption. The samples that exhibited a higher thermal stability were characterized to have a high surface area as well as low fluctuations in crystallite size, pore volume, and pore size. Ceria synthesized with cerium (III) nitrate hexahydrate and CTAB in a water:ethanol mixture using sodium hydroxide showed to be the most effective at providing a thermally stable product. Doping the catalyst with titanium increased the thermal stability significantly. Select samples were run in a variety of fuel to oxygen ratios to determine the best conditions in which we could perform partial methane oxidation to recuperate hydrogen gas. Most of the experiments show oxygen depletion with minor changes in other gas levels indicating that there is no oxidation occurring. Curiously the oxygen levels do decrease. There is a possibility that there is a reaction occurring initially at room temperature and being exacerbated with further temperature increase.

No description available.

Graduation date: 1948

Thesis (M.Eng.). / Written for the Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/01/14). Includes bibliographical references.