Doctoral Degrees (Process Engineering)
Recent Submissions
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Techno-economic and life cycle analyses for comparison of biorefinery scenarios for the production of succinic acid, itaconic acid and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from sugarcane lignocelluloses
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The pressure on energy resources worldwide combined with the awareness of the major impact industrial processes have on the environment, triggers the development of alternative energy sources and methods ... -
Catalytic pyrolysis conversion of lignin from different sources to phenols
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Lignin is a by-product of the paper and pulp industry and the emerging cellulosic ethanol production technologies. Both industries only considered lignin a source of energy to complement the energy needs ... -
Improving the performance of causality analysis techniques for automated fault diagnosis in mineral processing plants
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Modern mineral processing companies are driven towards improving productivity by leveraging existing processes optimally. This can be achieved by improving diagnosis of faults that degrade process ... -
Optimization of Aspergillus fijiensis β-fructofuranosidase expression and production using Pichia pastoris, for the production of fructooligosaccharides from sucrose
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African sugar industry faces challenges affecting its profitability such as low international market price and the implementation of tax legislation by the South African National Treasury on ... -
Valorisation of paper recycling residue contaminated with plastic into valuable fuel products by pyrolysis
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The recent drive towards a sustainable green economy, along with changing environmental legislation to combat waste pollution, have promoted the search for alternative disposal techniques. This study ... -
Monitoring, modelling and simulation of spiral concentrators
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Spiral concentrators are robust gravity separation devices often compactly implemented in industry with large amounts of spirals per plant – organized in banks. Current automated monitoring strategies at ... -
Phase Equilibria & thermodynamic modelling of the ternary system CO2 + 1-decanol + N-Tetradecane
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Experimental data and predictive process models, tested at various operating conditions, have shown that supercritical fluid fractionation is a feasible process when aimed at the separation of detergent ... -
The high pressure phase behaviour of detergent range alcohols and alkanes
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Supercritical fluids fulfil specialised roles in the food and beverage, petroleum, natural gas, polymers, pharmaceuticals and novel materials development industries. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) ... -
Microwave processing of materials
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: The world is under increasing pressure to develop new, more energy-efficient technologies that enable the production of less waste and are more sustainable. Material processing through microwave energy has ... -
Systems approach in developing a model for sustainable production of bioenergy in Malawi
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Bioenergy production from primary forest and rice residues can contribute to modern energy supply, such as electricity, liquid biofuels and gas, to rural communities in Malawi. These bioresources can be ... -
Optimisation of thermal treatment of invasive alien plants (IAPs) for char production for use in combustion applications
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Due to the popular worldwide demand for need to use cleaner fuels, lignocellulosic-derived char is gaining importance as a possible component in co-firing with coal. In order to avoid deforestation of ... -
Pyrolysis process optimisation to maximise limonene production from waste tyres
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Globally, increasing waste tyre generation is a major economic and environmental challenge. Economic challenges include depleting natural resources and rising crude oil prices from which synthetic rubbers ... -
Thermochemical biomass upgrading for co-gasification with coal
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Lignocellulosic biomass is considered as a sustainable and renewable fuel source with the potential to substitute or partially replace coal in applications such as gasification for energy generation due ... -
Improvement of the thermodynamic description of polar molecules and their mixtures in the SAFT framework
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03)ENGLISH SUMMARY: Chemical processes are designed around the manipulation of thermodynamic properties of chemical species and their mixtures. The ability to predict these properties accurately has driven the development of ... -
Prediction of behaviour kinetics and toxicity of engineered nanomaterials in aqueous environment using neural networks
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As the global market for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) continues to grow, the release of ENMs into the environment expose fauna and flora to new diverse stressors. Consequently, a novel approach is ... -
Supercritical water gasification of wood-related products: a thermodynamic and experimental study
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a method through which energy can be harvested, allowing high-‐energy gases such as hydrogen and methane to be generated from wet organic materials without ... -
Valorisation of paper waste sludge using pyrolysis processing
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Due to depleting fossil fuel reserves and environmental concerns over global warming, alternate sources such as renewable energy are required. One such renewable energy source is biomass which includes ... -
Nonlinear singular spectrum analysis and its application in multivariate statistical process monitoring
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) approaches based on principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS) and related extensions are now widely used for process monitoring and ... -
Investigation of the gas dispersion and mixing characteristics in column flotation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was applied to study gas dispersion and mixing characteristics of industrial and pilot scale flotation columns. An Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase modelling ... -
Integrated optimization of pretreatment conditions for bioethanol production from steam treated triticale straw
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03)ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Cultivar/environmental variabilities in the production of triticale straw, and its impact on pretreatment-hydrolysis processes for conversion to bioethanol, were addressed in this study. Twenty triticale ...
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