Simultaneous high-temperature gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric analysis of monocarboxylic acids and acylglycerols in biofuels and biofuel intermediate products.

Triacyl-, diacyl- and monoacylglycerols (TAGs, DAGs, MAGs) along with monocarboxylic acids (MCAs) are intermediate products in many triacylglycerol oil-to-biofuel conversion pathways. Accumulation of these compounds leads to poor biofuel characteristics and may result in fuel system damage. We developed a method for simultaneous identification and quantification of a wide range of MCAs (C-C), MAGs, DAGs, and TAGs.

Method development for the characterization of biofuel intermediate products using gas chromatography with simultaneous mass spectrometric and flame ionization detections.

Accurate analytical methods are required to develop and evaluate the quality of new renewable transportation fuels and intermediate organic liquid products (OLPs). Unfortunately, existing methods developed for the detailed characterization of petroleum products, are not accurate for many of the OLPs generated from non-petroleum feedstocks. In this study, a method was developed and applied to the detailed characterization of complex OLPs formed during triacylglyceride (TG) pyrolysis which is the basis for generating one class of emerging biofuels.

Mercury oxidation in flue gas using gold and palladium catalysts on fabric filters.

The feasibility of oxidizing elemental mercury in coal combustion flue gas using catalytic material impregnated onto fabric filters was explored. TiO2, Au/TiO2, and Pd/Al2O3 were studied based on promising results in previous research. Several fabric coating methods were investigated to determine the best way to load a filter.

A study of fine particulate emissions from combustion of treated pulverized municipal sewage sludge.

Municipal sewage sludge (MSS) is formed during wastewater treatment and its processing and disposal represent one of the most environmentally challenging aspects of the wastewater treating process. One disposal option currently being considered is a process involving heat treatment (to render the sludge biologically inactive) followed by dewatering, drying, pulverizing, and combustion. This research focuses on fine particle emissions from the combustion of dried, treated, MSS, cofired with either natural gas or pulverized Ohio bituminous coal as a supplemental fuel.