Date Approved

12-15-2023

Embargo Period

12-15-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Chemical Engineering

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

Advisor

Kirti Yenkie, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Joseph F. Stanzione, III, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Robert Hesketh, Ph.D.

Committee Member 3

Patrick Gilbert, Ph.D.

Committee Member 4

Carl W. Lawton, Ph.D.

Subject(s)

Ion exchange resins

Disciplines

Chemical Engineering | Engineering

Abstract

Ion exchange resins are widely used in the extraction of hazardous chemicals as well as the recovery of precious molecules. Therefore, an early breakthrough from the resin system can lead to toxic compounds affecting the drinking water quality or inefficient use of costly resins. Hence, accurate modeling of the ion exchange process and control strategy can enable decisions that assist in avoiding leakage when facing fluctuations in the inlet contaminant concentrations. In this work, the ion exchange process is modeled via the method of moments where the system uncertainties are captured via stochastic modeling using Ito processes. The flow rate is controlled to optimize the resin performance by maximizing its dynamic removal efficiency. The process runs more efficiently with a well-controlled varying flow rate rather than a constant flow, a standard industrial practice. The optimal control reveals that introducing the feed at a high flow rate followed by a decreasing flow can achieve significant removal of the target molecules and increase the efficiency of the purification process. This work has wide applicability ranging from chromate removal from water to extracting antibodies with a costly affinity chromatography resin.

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