The research in this thesis considers novel innovative developments in established
industrial processes that involve the use of recyclable polymeric particles as a
partial replacement for aqueous media and chemicals. The application of the
technology typically leads to water savings of over 80% and chemical savings of
over 25%. These industrial processes may be characterised in that are considered
inefficient and wasteful but nevertheless are considered economically vital. These
diverse industries including laundry cleaning, leather manufacturing, textile
garment processing, effluent treatment and metal beverage can manufacture.
The outcomes of this research have made significant contributions to industrial
best practice in such industries. In terms of academic research, the knowledge
created in this thesis provides the basis for the application of CFD-DEM modelling
to understand complex multi-phase and multi-component systems. In particular,
the thesis advocates the application of the Free Surface Lattice Boltzmann Method
for creating highly accurate simulations of multi-phase flow. In addition, the thesis
offers opportunities for further research in novel plasma micro-reactors and their
applications in diverse fields such as chemical synthesis, chemical engineering and
biotechnology. The nature of the research is multi-disciplinary, and involved
investigations across several fields including applied mathematics, biochemistry,
chemistry, physics, and engineering. The projects also involved scale up from
laboratory, pilot plant and full commercial scale production trials. Primary
objectives were investigated through a series of six published patents. The three
patents relating to the development of novel leather and textile processes were
solely conceived and executed by the author. The patent related to the
development of the plasma micro-reactor for ozone synthesis was conceived and
executed jointly by the author and Professor Will Zimmerman (Sheffield University).
The two patents related to the development of a novel metal cleaning and
treatment process was conceived and executed jointly by the author and Dr.
Robert Bird (Xeros Technology Group Limited).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/18994 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Steele, John E. |
| Contributors | Mujtaba, Iqbal |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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