Washington University in St. Louis School of Engineering & Applied Science, Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, Chemical Reaction Engineering Laboratory
Brauer Hall, Campus Box 1180, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130
Phone:             (314) 935-5548

DEPARTEMENT OF
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENTAL, & CHEMICAL ENGINEERING


Research at CREL
A. Experimental Techniques and Models
AREA I: Multiphase Reactors and Systems
A1. Bubble Columns, Slurries and Fluidized Beds
A2. Trickle Beds and Packed Bubble Columns
A3. Stirred Tank Reactors (STR)
  • Methods for Estimation of Hydrodynamic Parameters of Industrial Scale Reactors
  • Numerical Simulation of the Flow in Bubble Columns
  • Liquid Mixing Based on Convection and Turbulent Dispersion in Bubble Columns
  • Liquid and Gas Flow and Holdup Distribution in Trickle-Bed Reactors
  • Analysis of the Reaction Mechanism for Hydrogenation of alpha- methyl styrene at High Pressures
  • Performance of Trickle Bed Reactors in Periodic Operation
  • Characterization of Single Phase Flows in Stirred Tank Reactors (STR) using Computer Automated Radioactive Particle Tracking (CARPT)

  • Improved Prediction of Pressure Drop and Liquid Holdup in High Pressure Trickle Bed Reactors
  • Evaluation of the Effect of High Pressure and Gas Flow Rate on the Liquid-Solid Mass Transfer Coefficient in Trickle-Bed Reactors
  • Liquid-Solid Mass Transfer Coefficient in Trickle Bed Reactor Operated Under High Pressure
  • Tracer Studies of the LAPORTE AFDU Reactor During Methanol Synthesis, Dimethyl Ether Synthesis and Fischer Tropsch Synthesis
  • Interpretation of Tracer Data with Axial Dispersion Model in Slurry Bubble Column    Reactor Under Reaction Conditions
  • A Two Phase Recycle with Cross Flow Model for Bubble Column Reactors -Part I
  • A Two Phase Recycle with Cross Flow Model for Bubble Column Reactors -Part II
  • Fluid Dynamics and Mass Transport in Churn-Turbulent Bubble Columns
  • Hydrodynamics of Liquid Fluidized and Gas-Liquid Fluidized Beds
  • Fluid Dynamics and Flow Patterns in Liquid Solid Risers
  • Numerical Simulation of Single Phase Flows in STR
  • Advanced CARPT Studies in Single Phase Flows in STR: Evaluation of Flow Following Capabilities of Tracers of Different Sizes (150 microns - 2.3 mm) and Density Ratios (Neutrally Buoyant and Non-neutrally Buoyant)
  • Characterization of Local Fluid Dynamics of Liquid Phase in Gas-Liquid Flows in STR using CARPT
  • Characterization of Gas Phase Cross-Sectional Distributions at Different Axial Planes in Gas-Liquid Flows in STR using Computed Tomography (CT)
  • Numerical Simulations of Gas-Liquid Flows in STR
B. Mathematical Techniques and Computational Reaction Engineering
  • Computational Reaction Engineering: A brief outline of the future work needed in the important area of computational engineering
  • Partial External Wetting of Catalyst - A BEM Solution Procedure
  • Radial Basis Functions Approximation in the Dual Reciprocity Method
  • Periodic Operation of Asymmetric Bi-Directional Fixed-Bed Reactors -Operability and Energy Efficiency
  • Comparison of the Wave Model and the Axial Dispersion Model for the Case of Non-Unidirectional Flow
C. Novel Reactors and Technologies for Environmentally Benign Processing
  • Air Quality Engineering
  • Rotating Packed Beds
  • Particle Removal From Gas Stream by Roto-filter
  • Design of Reactive Distillation: CREL Capabilities
  • Preliminary Experimental Study on Photo Chlorination of Toluene in a Reactive Distillation Column
  • A Study of the Formation of Brominated Disinfection By-products Formed During Ozonation of Water Impurities in the Presence of Bromide
  • Evaluation of Metal Peroxides for Bioremediation
AREA II: Preparation of New Materials
  • Semiconductor Grade Silicon
  • Autoclave Process for high Performance Long-Fiber Composites
  • Carbon Fibers for Affordable Polymeric Composites
  • Zero-Order Release from a Brittle Matrix Due to Osmotically Induced Surface Erosion
AREA III: Process Monitoring and Control
  • Process Monitoring and Control
  • Process Identification using Discrete Wavelet Transforms
  • On-Line Quality Control of Nonlinear Batch Processes through Secondary Measurements
  • Design of a Controller Structure for Injected Resin Transfer Moulding (IRTM) Process