A critique of political self-deception: Kant and Freud at the edge of critical theory

In the spirit of Kantian critique this dissertation pursues the enlightenment project of examining the limits of reason and its political ramifications. Beginning from the claim that psychoanalysis is the inheritor of the Kantian project, this dissertation argues the limits of political reason lie beyond the concepts of overcoming and mastery. While traditionally this conversation has been occupied with the concept of ideology, this dissertation draws on the Freudian concept of self-deception. It contends the concept of ideology contains the seeds of its own overcoming, and thus cannot represent the limits of political reason. In contrast to ideology, this dissertation claims the Freudian concept of disavowal indicates the limits of not only rationality, but also political rationality. As such, the political ramifications of a critique focused on the limits of rationality must grapple with the phenomenon of disavowal, a phenomenon that blatantly defies the logic of non-contradiction. This dissertation concludes that this form of critique would demand turning political thought toward historical manifestations that continue to exist but are not recognized, such as the relationship between slavery and prisons as articulated in the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States

Numerical integration of variational equations

We present and compare different numerical schemes for the integration of the variational equations of autonomous Hamiltonian systems whose kinetic energy is quadratic in the generalized momenta and whose potential is a function of the generalized positions. We apply these techniques to Hamiltonian systems of various degrees of freedom, and investigate their efficiency in accurately reproducing well-known properties of chaos indicators like the Lyapunov Characteristic Exponents (LCEs) and the Generalized Alignment Indices (GALIs). We find that the best numerical performance is exhibited by the \textit{`tangent map (TM) method'}, a scheme based on symplectic integration techniques which proves to be optimal in speed and accuracy. According to this method, a symplectic integrator is used to approximate the solution of the Hamilton's equations of motion by the repeated action of a symplectic map $S$, while the corresponding tangent map $TS$, is used for the integration of the variational equations. A simple and systematic technique to construct $TS$ is also presented.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Fuel Production Using Membrane Reactors

The constant increase in population has led to greater fossil fuel consumption, and subsequently a significant increase in greenhouse gases emission to the atmosphere. This presents a serious threat to the environment and impacts climate change to a great extent. Fossil fuel supplies are depleting fast, and the price of these fuels is also increasing due to their heightened demand. The environmental concerns regarding this are the increased emissions of harmful pollutants such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and hydrocarbons. Here we review the alternative fuel technologies which are currently employed to aid the eradication of the current environmental problems. Most notably, this review will demonstrate how membrane reactors are implemented to improve and intensify the existing renewable fuel production processes. Furthermore, the advantages of membrane reactors when compared to the conventional ones, will be discussed; and the environmental benefits these particular reactors pose will also be highlighted. We will showcase how these membrane reactors have been applied successfully to improve biodiesel, hydrogen and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis processes. The application of membranes aids the increase in the conversion of desired products, whilst shifting the equilibrium of the reaction and reducing undesired by-products. Membrane reactors also overcome immiscibility issues that hinder conventional reactor processes. Moreover, they have also demonstrated a significant reduction in the separation and purification of impurities, as they couple them both in one step. This shows drastic economic and energy requirement reductions in the amount of wastewater treatment associated with conventional fuel production reactor

Identification of Commercial Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics: Study of UV Induced Degradation in an Effort 1 to Combat Plastic Waste Accumulation

About 50% of plastics is discarded after only single use which creates major environmental burdens. End of life 14 single-use items such as carrier bags constitute a large proportion of the litter found in marine and terrestrial 15 environments alike. The main objective of the current work was to investigate the response of an oxo-16 biodegradable commercial plastic film product to photo-degradation using accelerated weathering, verifying the 17 claim of its biodegradability and suitability as an eco-friendly product. The test specimens used were white to 18 transparent commercial grade plastic bags of PE origin acquired from an international franchise of household 19 goods, which were claimed to be of oxo-biodegradable nature. This study is also geared towards the 20 appropriateness of such products to reduce plastic waste accumulation in urban environments. The film samples 21 were exposed to weathering up to 20 continuous days to determine their degradability and assess their thermal 22 properties as a means to determine impact of UV induced oxo-biodegradation. Haze (%), light transmission (%) 23 and the total change in colour (ΔE) were measured as indicators to the degradation profile of the polymeric 24 materials, in addition to tensile pull mechanical properties and thermal stability. The melting peak indicates the 25 melting point (Tm) of the polymer and with exposure to weathering it showed a slight decrease from 105 to 26 102oC indicating that biodegradation mechanism was triggered. The reduction is strain at rupture was also 27 indicative of a loss in crystalline structure, coupled with Young’s modulus increase throughout weathering 28 exposure tests

Interplay Between Chaotic and Regular Motion in a Time-Dependent Barred Galaxy Model

We study the distinction and quantification of chaotic and regular motion in a time-dependent Hamiltonian barred galaxy model. Recently, a strong correlation was found between the strength of the bar and the presence of chaotic motion in this system, as models with relatively strong bars were shown to exhibit stronger chaotic behavior compared to those having a weaker bar component. Here, we attempt to further explore this connection by studying the interplay between chaotic and regular behavior of star orbits when the parameters of the model evolve in time. This happens for example when one introduces linear time dependence in the mass parameters of the model to mimic, in some general sense, the effect of self-consistent interactions of the actual N-body problem. We thus observe, in this simple time-dependent model also, that the increase of the bar's mass leads to an increase of the system's chaoticity. We propose a new way of using the Generalized Alignment Index (GALI) method as a reliable criterion to estimate the relative fraction of chaotic vs. regular orbits in such time-dependent potentials, which proves to be much more efficient than the computation of Lyapunov exponents. In particular, GALI is able to capture subtle changes in the nature of an orbit (or ensemble of orbits) even for relatively small time intervals, which makes it ideal for detecting dynamical transitions in time-dependent systems.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures (minor typos fixed) to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theo

Fuel production using membrane reactors: a review

Population growth has led to higher consumption of fossil fuel, and subsequently to a major increase of greenhouse gases emissions to the atmosphere, thus inducing global warming. Fossil fuel supplies are depleting, and the price of these fuels is increasing. Moreover, there are concerns about related emissions of toxic pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and aromatic hydrocarbons. Here, we review alternative fuel technologies. We focus on how membrane reactors improve the existing production processes of renewable fuels. Advantages and environmental benefits of membrane reactors are compared to the conventional techniques. Membrane reactors have been applied successfully to improve biodiesel, hydrogen and Fischer–Tropsch synthesis. Membranes help the conversion of products, whilst shifting the equilibrium of the reaction and reducing undesired by-products. Membrane reactors also overcome immiscibility issues that hinder conventional reactor processes. Overall, membrane reactors reduce cost and energy needed for the treatment of wastewater from fuel production

Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) and Reaction Modelling Study 6 of Bio-oil Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation in Microreactors

A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model was derived and validated, in order to, investigate the hydrodeoxygenation 9 reaction of 4-propylguaiacol, which is a lignin-derived compound present in bio-oil. A 2-D packed bed microreactor was 10 simulated using pre-sulphided NiMo/Al2O3 solid catalyst in isothermal operation. A pseudo-homogeneous model was first 11 created to validate the experimental results from literature. Various operational parameters were investigated and validated 12 with the experimental data, such as temperature, pressure and liquid flow rate; and it was found that the CFD findings were 13 in very good agreement with the results from literature. The model was then upgraded to that of a detailed multiphase 14 configuration; and phenomena such as internal and external mass transfer limitations were investigated, as well as, reactant 15 concentrations on the rate of 4-propylguaiacol. Both models agreed with the experimental data, and therefore confirm their 16 ability for applications related to the prediction of the behaviour of bio-oil compounds hydrodeoxygenation

Heating Strategies in Cellulose Pyrolysis as an Alternative For Targeting Energy Efficient Product Distribution

Energy generation and platform chemicals production from biomass are a potential route towards an oil-free economy. Pyrolysis is one of the key technologies for transforming biomass into both fuels and chemicals. However, pyrolysis is a complex and energy-intensive process, and optimizing the operation for reducing its energy requirements is critical for the design of competitive biorefineries. This work presents a model to describe cellulose pyrolysis based on mass, energy and momentum conservation of solid and gaseous species. Lumped and detailed kinetic models are used to investigate how heating conditions impact pyrolysis product distribution. The resulting complex system was solved using gPROMS. Results suggest that pyrolysis mainly occurs in the boundary of the modelled particles. The developed model presents flexibility to use lumped and detailed kinetic models and provided both a general perspective of the pyrolysis process and detailed information on product distribution. Using this model, the results show that an initial high heating rate, followed by a lower heating rate, could reduce energy requirements by 10 % without changing the product distribution. There is also a trade-off between the yield of high added-value products, such as levoglucosan, and the overall energy requirement

Integrated Circuit (IC) Chip with a Self-Contained Fluid Sensor and Method of Making the Chip

An integrated circuit (IC) chip with a self-contained fluid sensor and method of making the chip. The sensor is in a conduit formed between a semiconductor substrate and a non-conductive cap with fluid entry and exit points through the cap. The conduit may be entirely in the cap, in the substrate or in both. The conduit includes encased temperature sensors at both ends and a central encased heater. The temperature sensors may each include multiple encased diodes and the heater may include multiple encased resistors