David A. Bell
Associate Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering
Education
B.S. University of Washington, 1976
M.S. Rice University, 1979
Ph.D. Colorado State University, 1992
Specialization: Process design, environmental applications of chemical
engineering, explosives technology, surface science and vacuum technology.
Current and Proposed Research
Reduction of Emissions from Dehydration of Natural Gas
Triethylene glycol is typically used to remove water vapor from natural gas.
Ethylene glycol is also used. The glycols have much higher boiling points than
water, so a boiler is used to dry the wet glycol. Besides water, the glycol
absorbs benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene from the natural gas, and
these compounds are emitted to the atmosphere along with steam leaving the
boiler. Consequently, many of these dehydration units are now classified as
major sources of air pollution. Regulation and re-engineering of dehydration
units has been hampered by the lack of accurate thermodynamic models needed to
estimate emissions. In this research, vapor/liquid equilibria measurements are
being taken and modeled. This research is being conducted by M.S. candidate
John Brown in collaboration with Dr. Brian Towler .
Supercritical Solubility of Binders Used in Explosive
Formulations
This research examines the solubility of polymeric binders, used in
plastic-bonded explosives, in supercritical fluids. This information may be
used in subsequent efforts to develop new explosive formulation techniques or
new methods for the recovery of obsolete explosives. This research is being
conducted by M.S. candidate Joseph Kolnik in collaboration with Dr. Raymond
Flesner of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Optical Analysis of Agglomeration in an Explosive Molding
Powder Reactor. Explosive molding powders are made by adding a
lacquer, consisting of a polymeric binder dissolved in an organic solvent, to a
slurry of explosive particles in water. The organic solvent is then driven off
with a air sweep. As the solvent is removed, the polymer coats the particles,
and the particles agglomerate to form the molding powder. Control of this
process, which was developed in the early 1950's, is based on direct
observation of the particles and on operator intuition. This research,
conducted by Ph.D. candidate Gregg Sullivan in collaboration with Dr. Sheldon
Larson of Los Alamos National Laboratory, seeks to develop a mathematical
analysis of video images of the agglomeration process. This analysis will lead
to a better understanding of the agglomeration process and improved control
techniques.
Selected Publications
Bishop. R.L., R.L. Flesner, P.C. Dell'Orco, T. Spontarelli, S.A. Larson, and
D.A. Bell, "The Base Hydrolysis of HMX and HMX-Based Plastic-Bonded Explosives
between 100 o C and 155 o C," Ind. Engr. Chem. Res.,
38, 2254 (1999).
Bishop. R.L., R.L. Flesner, P.C. Dell'Orco, T. Spontarelli, S.A. Larson, and
D.A. Bell, "Application of Gas-Liquid Film Theory to Base Hydrolysis of
Explosives Using Sodium Carbonate," Ind. Engr. Chem. Res., 37, 4551 (1998).
Bishop, R.L., R.L. Flesner, P. Dell'Orco, T. Spontarelli, J. Kramer, and D.A.
Bell, "Modeling of the Base Hydrolysis of HMX Powder and HMX Based Plastic
Bonded Explosives," Proc. 1998 Life Cycles Energetic Materials Conf.,
Fullerton, CA, March 29-April 1, 1998, Alita Roach and William Deal, eds., John
Sanchez, conf. chair.
Bishop, R.L., R.L. Flesner, P. Dell'Orco, T. Spontarelli, D. Bell and J.
Kramer, "Base Hydrolysis Kinetics of HMX-based Explosives Using Sodium
Carbonate," Los Alamos Unclassified Report: LA-UR-96-1818 (1996).
McConica, C.M., D.A. Bell, K.L. Baker, and D. Moss, "A Laboratory Batch Reactor
Method for Kinetic Study of Chemical Vapor Deposition," AIChE J., 42, 1108
(1996).
Matthews, M.A., F. Li, B.F. Towler, and D.A. Bell, "Vapor Liquid Measurements
with Semi-continuous Mixtures", Fluid Phase Equilibria, 111, 101 (1995).
Bell, D.A., J.L. Falconer and C.M. McConica, "Desorption of Tungsten Fluorides
from Tungsten," J. Electrochem. Soc., 142, 2401 (1995).
Bell, D.A., J.L. Falconer, Z. Lu, and C.M. McConica, "Electron Beam-Induced
Deposition of Tungsten," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B, 12, 2976 (1994).
Links
DOE/EPSCoR
Environmental Research Cluster
