Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Project Summary

On March 27th, 2026, President Trump announced the finalization of the Renewable Fuel Standard “Set 2”, which establishes a 60% increase in the requirement for renewable fuels from 2025 to 2026 & 2027. Prior to this new standard, the federal and state carbon incentives for renewable natural gas increased its production value by more than 20 times its fair market price, from

Other Information

This project was designed to meet the requirements of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2026 Senior Design Competition: CERES.

Acknowledgement

With great appreciation to the outstanding chemical engineering faculty and staff at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Project Summary

This project investigates how solvent polarity influences the extraction of bioactive compounds from Acalypha Wilkesiana by comparing extracts obtained using solvents of varying polarity. We analyze phytochemical content and evaluate antioxidant activity using standard assays to determine which solvent yields the most potent extracts. The goal is to identify optimal extraction conditions for maximizing antioxidant compounds. This work supports the broader effort to discover and utilize plant-derived antioxidants for potential pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

Project Summary

Petroleum-based plastics are widely used across industries, but they present serious environmental and health challenges. These plastics are derived from non-renewable resources and are non-biodegradable, meaning they persist in the environment and cannot be broken down by microorganisms. Their large-scale production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, while their accumulation, especially in marine ecosystems, leads to significant biodiversity loss. In response to these concerns, there has been a growing push toward renewable and sustainable alternatives. One promising solution is Polyethylene furanoate (PEF), a fully bio-based polymer. PEF offers performance comparable to or superior to that of conventional plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), including improved mechanical strength, better thermal stability, and enhanced barrier properties, making it a potential replacement for petroleum-based plastics in the food and beverage industry. In this work, PEF is produced from microalgal feedstocks, which are converted into polymer precursors through a series of unique isolation techniques and carefully controlled chemical reactions. Because PEF can be synthesized from renewable resources, it represents a strong and more sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics, positioning it as a key material in the transition toward environmentally friendly polymer production.

Project Objective

The goal of this project is to develop and optimize a sustainable process that converts microalgal feedstocks into Polyethylene furanoate (PEF). The design focuses on ensuring optimal process performance while maintaining the required barrier properties of the final polymer. This approach aims to deliver a steady, reliable supply of high-quality bio-based plastic precursors capable of replacing petroleum-derived Polyethylene terephthalate in the food and beverage industry, while reducing environmental impact and supporting the transition to renewable polymer systems.

Manufacturing Design Methods

The process integrates reaction engineering and separation techniques to convert microalgal biomass into Polyethylene furanoate (PEF). Algae growth is modeled in a photobioreactor using a simplified photosynthetic reaction, with carbon capture from process CO₂ streams supporting sustained algal cultivation. The harvested biomass undergoes dewatering, mechanical cell disruption, and ethanol precipitation to isolate polysaccharides. These are hydrolyzed into glucose in a yield-based reactor, followed by acid-catalyzed dehydration to form 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). The 5-HMF is then oxidized to FDCA in a plug-flow reactor and purified by crystallization and centrifugation. Finally, FDCA is polymerized via step-growth polymerization to produce PEF, with the resulting polymer properties approximated due to software constraints.

Future Works

Future work will focus on improving the accuracy and detail of polymerization modeling. Additional optimization of recycle streams, operating conditions, and separation efficiency will be explored to enhance overall process performance. Efforts will also be directed toward reducing overall process costs through improved material utilization and process simplification, as current production pathways remain relatively resource-intensive.

Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge Dr.Splichal for his guidance, support, and valuable feedback throughout this project. His input was instrumental in shaping and improving our work, and we sincerely appreciate his time and expertise.

Project Summary

Adhesives from isocyanate polyurethanes have strong bonding properties yet pose serious health risks in both production and daily life. Kraft Lignin, a common organic waste, contains the functional groups that can make a renewable alternative and replace isocyanate’s role in adhesives. Our production plant will be placed in Rome, Georgia attached to an existing paper mill with competitive pricing of 26.47$/kg. Our three-step process proposes a sustainable approach to producing polyurethane adhesives without incorporating isocyanates.

Project Summary

The goal of this project was to organically synthesize a cyanine-based nanogel to be used for controlled drug delivery. Anti-cancer medication temozolomide will be the cargo of the nanogel, which would be injected at the site of the tumor.

Project Summary

This research lab project focuses on designing and synthesizing azobenzene based photoswitchable metal chelators that can reversibly toggle metal binding with light, enabling controlled interaction with biologically relevant ions like Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺.

Project Summary

This project addresses the environmental and economic challenges of fossil fuel dependency by designing a commercial-scale chemical plant at Florida Tech that converts corn stover, an agricultural waste, into 300,000 metric tons of absolute ethanol per year. Utilizing a hybrid thermochemical-biochemical pathway, the process begins with mechanical pretreatment via a hammer mill and high-temperature fluidized bed gasification at 850 °C to produce syngas. To protect the biological catalysts used downstream, the raw syngas is purified using a water scrubber and a zinc oxide (ZnO) desulfurization reactor to remove contaminants such as H2S. The cleaned gas is then fermented by Clostridium autoethanogenum in a bubble column bioreactor, followed by a rigorous separation sequence involving flash separation, beer stripping, rectification, and a 20-unit 3A molecular sieve system to overcome the water-ethanol azeotrope. This integrated design provides a sustainable, high-purity renewable energy solution while effectively managing agricultural residues.

Manufacturing Design Methods

The manufacturing process was designed using a comprehensive simulation framework in Aspen Plus, which utilized RYield and RGibbs reactors to model the complex decomposition and chemical equilibrium during biomass gasification. Mechanical pretreatment was meticulously modeled using Vogel selection and breakage functions within a hammer mill simulation to achieve specific particle size targets below 6 mm. For the biochemical section, fermentation was modeled using yield-based assumptions, specifically a productivity of 2 g/Lh, to bypass the limitations of simulating microbial kinetics and mass transfer in Aspen. Finally, the separation units employed RadFrac distillation models with 25 and 30 stages, respectively, to concentrate the ethanol before it entered a specialized molecular sieve block for final dehydration.

Specification

The plant is designed to handle a massive feedstock throughput of 187,667 kg/hr of corn stover, which is processed in a gasifier operating at 850 °C and 1 bar. The fermentation stage is specified to operate under anaerobic conditions at 37 °C, 3–5 bar, and a pH of 5, utilizing Clostridium autoethanogenum to target an 80/20 carbon split between ethanol and acetate. To ensure continuous operation, the dehydration system specifies a total of 20 molecular sieve units, with one bed operational while the remaining 19 undergo a 460-minute regeneration phase. Analysis: Technical analysis of the simulation confirms that the gasifier residence time must be maintained at 2 seconds to prevent ash melting and slagging while ensuring complete biomass decomposition. The purification analysis indicates that the zinc oxide reactor is highly effective, achieving a 99% conversion rate of H2S and requiring a steady feed of 263.65 kg/hr of ZnO to prevent downstream catalyst poisoning. Furthermore, the separation analysis demonstrates that while standard distillation can only achieve 95 wt% ethanol, the inclusion of the 3A molecular sieve breaks the azeotrope, achieving the "absolute" purity required by industrial fuel standards.

Other Information

Beyond the core process design, this project included a HAZOP analysis and a review of environmental and societal impacts to ensure the facility meets modern safety and sustainability standards. The design incorporates efficient resource management, such as a 1:1 liquid-to-gas ratio in the water scrubbing system and the use of heat exchangers to recover energy from the 850 °C raw syngas stream. These considerations ensure that the plant is not only technically feasible but also economically and environmentally responsible.

Acknowledgement

This comprehensive checkpoint report and the associated process design were prepared by the student engineering team consisting of Bre Venditti, Jacob Dymock, Eva Shealy, and Muath Alharbi. The work was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Florida Tech's College of Engineering.