PG Corner

Mark Peters makes his mark Mark Peters is a post-graduate student at the School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering. He obtained his degree in Chemical Engineering [BSc (Eng) Chem] from Wits University in 2003, graduating cum laude. In 2004, he began research in the field of distillation and membrane processes at COMPS. This research, initially intended for an MSc, was converted to a PhD, under the auspices of his supervisors Prof. Diane Hildebrandt, Prof. David Glasser and Dr. Shehzaad Kauchali. The proposed title for his thesis is “Development of novel theory for synthesis and application of optimum hybrid distillation-membrane processes”. Distillation Residue Curve Maps (D-RCM’s) have proven to be an extremely useful tool for graphically designing distillation sequences. With the intention of analyzing membrane separation processes from a similar mathematical background as distillation, Membrane Residue Curve Maps (M-RCM’s) were developed by Mark and his supervisors. In essence, these maps trace out the compositional change in the un-permeated material (or retentate) in a batch still. M-RCM’s have provided one with a graphical visualization of membrane processes, and can enable one to efficiently examine various possibilities. The mathematical models that describe an M-RCM are equivalent to those describing a single-stage continuous membrane process. Thus, it was found that it is possible, through the use of both maps, that hybrid systems could be analyzed graphically. This research makes use of previous work formulated by students at the School. Column Profile Maps (CPM) are incorporated in order to graphically plot the transformed D-RCM according to the appropriate reflux ratio and difference point for a particular column section. The M-RCM is then used, when necessary, depending on the sequence being designed. At present, Mark is investigating the separation of methanol/1-butene/MTBE as a hybrid example. He is currently formulating techniques of optimisation in order to select the most advantageous sequence. He has submitted a paper to the Industrial and Engineering Chemist Research, a reputable international journal, and is in progress of finalizing another for submission. His work has previously been presented at the 2004 AIChE Conference. He has recently submitted work for review for the 2006 Distillation & Absorption Conference proceedings.		Kiangi Kiangi writes... My name is Kiangi Kiangi, I come from a beautiful country called Tanzania. Tanzania is a country endowed with Africa’s most scenic places such as Mount. Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar Island, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and many more.  I received my Bachelors degree in chemical engineering from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2001. I worked for about two years after which I came to South Africa to pursue my postgraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at Wits University. My hobbies include mountain climbing (successfully summitted Mount. Kilimanjaro in 1995), jogging (participate in the annual Lenn Smith road race), swimming and camping. Currently I am learning golf at the Wits golf club. I am a member and former secretary of the Wits Roots & Shoots club and also a dedicated member of the Wits eco-drive committee. My PhD research focuses on the effect of particles on the behaviour of the ball load and power usage in a dry mill. In this research an inductive proximity probe, force probe and light dependent resistor (LDR) probe are used to measure the load behaviour as particles are added to the mill. So far we have been able to show that the inclusion of particles in a mill greatly influence the load behaviour and particularly encourage cataracting of the load as particle filling increases at a particular speed. This change in behaviour of the ball load due to particles has an influence on the power drawn by a mill. Part of this research was presented at the 2005 SAIMM conference in Cape Town. The conference was quite exciting and I took the opportunity to meet and talk to the “guru’s” in the mineral processing field and familiarise myself with the various researches in the field. The high point of the conference was when Augustine Makokha (from our research group) won the first prize for the best poster in the conference. Not to forget were the awesome social events that we attended at the conference and obviously Cape Town is always a great and relaxed place to be.
My American experience - Peter Mukoma I have always wanted to visit the United States and finally this opportunity came in the form of a visit to the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), University of Kentucky in Lexington, USA as part of a group of three students. The purpose of my visit was to work in the Catalysis Group under the supervision of Burtron Davis. Burt (as we call him) and his catalysis group are renowned for their work in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) and other industrial catalytic processes. For me it was not only an honor but also a privilege to work under the supervision of Burtron Davis. My trip to the US was for a period of 6 months and I left Johannesburg in September 2005 and came back at the end of February 2006. When I arrived in Lexington the weather was warm, their summer was just finishing. When fall came (just before winter) the trees were a beautiful sight. All the leaves turned yellow before falling to the ground. My work at CAER was a study of the effect of water on cobalt catalysts during Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis. I started my work by preparing catalysts with Dr Garry Jacobs, who has a great understanding of cobalt catalyst preparations and characterizations. We worked on my catalysts for the first two months and then went on to run FTS experiments. I learnt how to operate the reactors from Dr Minseng (Mason) Luo and Rob Spicer always made it a point that everything was running without a hitch. Bob Keogh made sure all the samples were analyzed and data made available in the FT Data Base The lab is located approximately 10 miles from the main campus were I was staying and since they were no public buses going towards the lab I had to buy a car. Fortunately for me the cost of buying a car was split between the three of us (there were two students from Chemistry with me). Although none of us was an experienced driver, we did not have a problem driving. Unlike South Africa and Zambia where I come from, Americans drive on the right hand side of the road and in the beginning I used to find myself on wrong lanes but thank God the people there are patient and observe traffic laws. They do not shout and honk at each other anyhow. Peter Mukoma with Dr Mason Luo Life in Lexington would have been boring, especially in the beginning, without “uncle” Dennis Sparks. Dennis has worked at the lab for more than 20 years and he take pride in showing visiting students all there is to see in Kentucky and the nearby state of Ohio. I found Dennis to be very kind and reliable. He met me at the airport on my arrival and made sure I had everything I needed to get settled. Dennis loves aero planes and he collects models as a hobby. At his house he has a room full of models that he assembles and paints in various colours. Among the various places that I visited with him was the United States Air Force Museum in Dalton, Ohio. The museum has a collection of planes; most of them were used in the two world wars and the first Iraq war. I can not describe the feeling of touching an F16 fighter jet and Stealth bomber. These war machines are just incredible to look at. Dennis knows everything you want to know about planes and I couldn’t ask for a better guide. Just like all major American Universities, the University of Kentucky (UK) has various sporting teams. The football season was just ending when I went to Lexington; however, the basket ball season was just starting. Tickets to the basketball games are hard to come by, however, I had an opportunity to watch two games. The last game I watched was between the UK Wildcats and Tennessee and I enjoyed the game. Although I knew my time in the US was limited, I just had to visit New York. I guess there is no place on earth like New York, with all its landmarks; I just had to be there!! Watching the ball drop on Time Square at New Year’s Eve is always the highlight of the festive season in New York and it is dubbed the biggest party in the world and I wanted to be part of it.The weather was cold but so many people trooped to Time Square and some of them waited for more than 8 hours for the ball to drop. After the ball dropped, everyone went home to celebrate the New Year. I celebrated mine in a pub on Broadway and it was so much fun. I rode the New York subway and felt very safe. I visited the Statue of Liberty, New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, Ground Zero (the site where the World Trade Center was), The Empire State building, The Rockefeller Center and Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Knicks! I also passed through the Bronx on my way to Brooklyn, seeing the Apollo Theater (Harlem’s world famous theater) where so many artists have performed was unbelievable. Just when I was beginning to feel and enjoy the American life, it was time to pack and go. I enjoyed my short stay in the US but it is nice to come back to my more familiar territory.
Simon Mashala back from Michigan My name is Simon Mashala; I am the fortunate student who was selected to spend the December 2005 term break with Professor Scott Fogler, Vennema Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, United States of America. I was excited yet apprehensive about being chosen as I had never been out of Gauteng or been on an airplane before. I spoke to two students who had previously been selected to work for Prof. Fogler and they shared their experiences in the USA and the impact the opportunity had had on their lives. One student is now working for a well known brewery and is doing his masters degree part-time and the other has completed his masters degree, all because they had been given confidence in themselves. I was met at Ann Arbor airport by Mrs. Fogler who later introduced me to Bate Agborbaiyee, a Cameroonian, who was the hall director at Baits Houses in Michigan University. He was a pleasant person who showed me around town and told me about the American Society. I really enjoyed spending time with him and his family because we were from the same continent and I found it easier to understand him than the Americans. I would have learned a lot from him if I had the opportunity to stay in the US for a longer period of time. He was like a father figure to me, he also advised me on how to act around people and how to balance between my work and social life, and this is a lesson I can utilise anywhere in the world. Mrs. Fogler was very kind to me and took me out to watch a basketball game. I boarded with Tabish Maqbool, Prashant Singh, (two Indian students) and Mr. Pornchai a Thai, all Prof. Fogler’s graduate students. I enjoyed their company, learned about their culture, religion, political background, their main industries and the languages they speak. It was also helpful living with them because they gave me guidelines as to what Prof. Fogler expected from his students. Fogler's students Apart from school activities there were numerous events that I attended, namely, the MLK event and the MUSES event organised by UM undergraduate and graduate students. I also went to a Christian church in Ann Arbor. I spent Christmas with Andre D. Taylor and his family who was the research investigator in the Department of Engineering. He took me sightseeing in Ann Arbor and down town Detroit. I was able to see the bridge that separates the state of Michigan and Ontario (Canada). I took photos of the whole trip. Andre and William Johnson (about to complete his PhD studies) informed me of events that took place around Ann Arbor. Being in a strange country can be boring and stressful at times, not knowing what to do or where to go in order to meet new people so as to learn about their country. The project I worked on was Pharmacokinetic model for cobra envenomation. My objective was to find the reaction kinetics between venom and anti-venom, and venom and receptor sites in the human body. This study was a continuation of previous work that had been done by one of Prof. Fogler’s PhD students. The previous model assumed that antivenin reacts with the receptor sites but that there is no conceptual or experimental basis for direct interaction of such immunoglobulin antivenins with acetylcholine receptors. In addition it was not mentioned in the in the article which antivenin was model and once more there was only one clearance value used in the mass balance equation. Different anti-venoms have different clearances. My aim was to do a model modification that would not allow interaction of antivenin with the receptor sites. Hence, use a clearance value for the appropriate antivenin model. Furthermore, there were concerns about the suitability of the data used for model fitting. The data used was obtained from the graph of venom radioactivity versus time and there was no reference for conversion of radioactivity to concentration, hence, the model approach was not appropriately justified. Personally, I gained a lot from this project work in terms of critical and logical thinking which I obtained by working with Prof. Fogler and listening to his comments at his students presentations. Prof. Fogler is a very knowledgeable man and I’d advise anyone who is fortunate enough to be offered the opportunity of working with him to grab it with both hands. I have greater self-confidence and now know that I can make it in the chemical engineering world. I would like to thank COMPS and Prof. Scott Fogler for the adventure and opportunity. COMPS would like to extend an invitation to any interested, local or international, academic or University body to start a similar student exchange system whereby firm collaboration ties can be formed between the parties thus benefiting the Universities. The synergy of these collaborations will hopefully lead to many new and exciting ideas.