Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering - Theses
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ItemAqueous-phase oxidation of brown-coal dewatering effluent using phenol as a model( 1982)Victorian-brown-coal dewatering effluent has been shown to contain quantities of phenol which would prevent its direct discharge to any water course. A proposal to oxidize this effluent, using oxygen, to less toxic compounds or more readily biodegradable material, has been investigated. A rapid-mixing stopped-flow apparatus, capable of examining the reaction between dissolved oxygen and aqueous phenol solutions under conditions of elevated temperature and pressure, has been designed and constructed. The phenol/oxygen reaction has been investigated at temperatures between 150°C and 225°C and under conditions of excess oxygen, excess phenol and near the stoichiometric ratio. An analytical system comprising a High-Performance Liquid Chromatograph has been developed and some reaction products not previously isolated from the phenol/oxygen reaction system have been identified. The experimental results have led to the development of a reaction pathway for phenol oxidation by oxygen. Reaction steps in the mechanism which are critical in determining the reaction product distributions and those that can be considered as rate limiting have been determined. The reaction pathway for oxidation of phenol by oxygen and published information for oxidation of phenol by ozone are used to develop a reaction pathway for ozone oxidation. The phenol/oxygen pathway is also used to propose several strategies for the operation of a brown-coal dewatering effluent treatment plant.
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ItemThe sorption of ammonia on brown coal( 1978)This thesis is a report of an investigation carried out by the author between 1st April 1969 to 31st October 1973 on a full time basis and from 1st December 1975 to 31st July 1978 on a part time basis. The research project was conducted by the author in the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne, and on the premises of Australian Char Pty. Ltd., Morwell. The project was based on the premise that useful information on the brown coal-ammonia system can be obtained from sorption isotherms. The author designed and assembled the apparatus with this in mind, and developed a method of obtaining a self-consistent and meaningful interpretation of the sorption isotherms. Thermodynamic data for the ammonia sorption process was derived and used to develop a preliminary model for the ammonia-brown coal system. No separate literature review has been presented in the thesis, though frequent reference to the literature has been made in the discussions in each chapter. Finally, the experimental details have been included in the appendices at the end of the thesis.