polymers

Dr. Xiaoguang Peng received prestigious fellowship from Anton Paar

Posted on by

Dr. Xiaoguang Peng – a postdoctoral research associate from Dr. Anson Ma’s research group – has received a prestigious fellowship from Anton Paar in recognition of his expertise in rheology and contributions to the science of complex fluids. Dr. Peng received his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas Tech University in 2016. Before joining UCONN in 2018, he was a PhD student and then a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Greg McKenna’s group at Texas Tech. He has over 10 years of experience in the synthesis and characterization of polymers and colloidal dispersions.

The Anton Paar fellowship was established in 2016 as part of a strategic partnership between Ma’s research group and Anton Paar – a world-leading manufacturer of measurement instruments. The company has provided fellowships and loaned their most advanced rheometer, the MCR 702 TwinDrive Rheometer, to Dr. Ma’s lab. https://news.engr.uconn.edu/new-partnership-brings-high-end-research-equipment-to-uconn.php

UConn’s Dr. Parnas Works with REA Resource Recovery Systems LLC to Turn Wastewater Treatment Byproducts into Biodiesel Fuel

Posted on by

Richard Parnas of the IMS Polymer Program enjoyed a visit from Governor Danell Malloy to the site of UConn’s collaborative project with the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority and REA Resource Recovery Systems LLC on September 27, 2018. The visit celebrated the first milestone of the project, where the brown grease waste stream from the East Shore wastewater treatment plant is converted to biodiesel fuel in a process patented by Dr. Parnas that REA licenses from UConn. Dr. Parnas and REA installed a mini-refinery at the East Shore treatment plant with capability to produce approximately 400,000 liters per year of biodiesel fuel from the brown grease. That system serves as a 1/10 scale demonstration of a typical commercial system the company can install at many of the thousands of wastewater treatment plants throughout the world. For ease of installation, the entire demonstration system was constructed inside of 2 CONEX shipping containers at ProFlow, Inc. of North Haven, CT. Future plans include the installation of a turbo-electric generator to demonstrate a pathway to converting the waste stream to power at a cost much less then required with current biodigester technology.

Cong Liu, a chemical engineering graduate student working with Prof. Parnas, describes aspects of the conversion process to an aide to Governor Malloy while standing outside of the main reactor room of the mini-refinery.

Governor Malloy, Dr. Parnas, and UCONN Chemistry undergraduate Dylan Ramirez discuss the importance of waste management and power generation to the wastewater treatment industry.

REA managing partner Al Barbarotta, Governor Malloy and Prof. Parnas discussing the chemistry of the conversion process while standing in the main reactor room of the mini-refinery. A cluster of 3 continuous stirred tank reactors, a multi-phase laminar flow reactor, and a liquid/liquid extractor are visible in the background.