| The thesis consists of two parts: (1) Flaring data analysis and (2) Photo-catalytic material preparation. Part 1 discusses the analysis of flaring data in the Houston – Galveston Area (HGA) in 2006. The analysis focuses on the flare emissions under various operating modes for refining, petrochemical, and chemical plants to identify possible underreporting scenarios and undetected species with the hope of identifying the causes of the discrepancy between the reported emission inventory and the monitored pollution levels. The possible by-product spectrum for flaring ethylene and propylene was analyzed using RGibbs reactor in Aspen Plus simulations. Part 2 investigates the transparent and porous anatase composite materials by treating the sol-gel derived TiO 2-SiO2 films containing PEG with hot water. The process was done at lower temperatures (∼ 100°C) and under the ambient pressure, and thus, the anatase crystal-dispersed films can be formed on various substrates including organic polymers with poor heat resistance. The catalyst materials were characterized as follows: the anatase diffraction peak by XRD, absorbance spectra by FTIR, and the particle size by SEM, and surface area by BET. The activity of the powdered catalysts with different TiO2-SiO 2 ratios was investigated on the PCO of atrazine in the aqueous phase under 9W florescent and black lights. |
