606B Chemical and Materials Engineering Building 
(780) 492-6733 
Fax: (780) 492-2881 
William.McCaffrey@UAlberta.ca

RESEARCH AREAS: Reaction Engineering, Biochemical Engineering, Polymers from Renewable Resources, Heavy Oil Upgrading

My main research interests are in biochemical and reaction engineering of complex systems.  Past research activities have included the upgrading of bitumen, molecular modeling, tertiary recycling of polymers into chemical feed stocks by reactive distillation, investigation of reaction mechanisms of thermolysis for polyethylene and polyethylene/polystyrene mixtures, Monte-Carlo modeling of the random degradation of polymers during thermal processing, the production of synchronous cultures of Candida bombicola to produce a biosurfactant and liquid/liquid extraction using reverse micelles. 

My current research interests include: 

1. POLYMERS FROM RENEWABLE RESOURCES: The main objective of this project is to synthesize new biodegradable polymers from renewable resources.  Currently biodegradable polymers are either produced from synthetic monomers, from monomers extracted from annual agricultural crops, or harvested from bacterial storage polymers. The most established biodegradable polymer is poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The polymer is made from lactides that are produced from lactic acid and then converting to PLA by ring opening polymerization. While PLA is well established, other polymers are needed that possess different physical and chemical properties.  Two research projects are planned to develop the polymers from renewable resources: one is planed for the synthesis of monomers from microbiological and other renewable resources and another for the polymerization and modification of polymers from renewable resources. 

2. SEPARATION & UPGRADING OF BITUMEN: Bitumen and heavy oils from oil sands are a very complex mixture of hydrocarbons that pose significant challenges to their separation from the sand and the ultimate upgrading into synthetic crude oils and other products.  Because they are so complex, they are also very difficult to analyze.  The approach that we are using to understand the fundamentals of heavy oils is to use advanced reactor systems, synthetic tracers, detailed chemical modeling and molecular dynamic simulations. We have achieved a significant insight into the role of mass transfer on the reactions of interest and are now investigating the role of reverse reactions. 
 
 

Sample Publications:

Gray, M.R., McCaffrey, W.C., Role of chain reactions and olefin formation in cracking, hydroconversion and coking of petroleum and bitumen fractions, Energy and Fuels, 16(3), 756-766 (2002)

Rhamain S., McCaffrey, W.C., Gray, M.R., Kinetics of solvent interactions with asphaltenes during coke formation, Energy and Fuels, 16(1), 148-154 (2002)

Gray MR, Le T, McCaffrey WC, Berruti F, Soundararajan S, Chan E, Huq I, Thorne C, Coupling of mass transfer and reaction in coking of thin films of an Athabasca vacuum residue, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 40 (15): 3317-3324 (2001)

Richard P. Dutta, William C. McCaffrey, and Murray R. Gray, Karlis Muehlenbachs. Use of 13C Tracers to Determine Mass-Transfer Limitations on Thermal Cracking of Thin Films of Bitumen, Energy & Fuels;; 15(5); 1087-1093 (2001)

Dutta, R.P, McCaffrey, W.C., Gray, M.R., Muehlenbachs, K, Thermal Cracking of Athabasca Bitumen: Influence of Steam on Reaction Chemistry, Energy & Fuels, 14, 671-676 (2000)

McCaffrey, W.C., Cooper, D.G., Kamal, M.R., The Effect Of Short Chain Branching On The Thermolysis/Reactive Distillation Of Polyethylene, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 73(8), 1415-1421 (1999)

McCaffrey, W.C., Cooper, D.G., and Kamal, M.R., Tertiary Recycling of Polyethylene: Mechanisms of Liquid Production from Polyethylene by Thermolysis/Reactive Distilation, Polym. Degrad. Stabil., 62(3), 513-521 (1998)

McCaffrey, W.C., Brues, M.J., Cooper, D.G., and Kamal, M.R., (1996) Thermolysis of Polyethylene/Polystyrene Mixtures, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 60, 2133-2140. 

McCaffrey, W.C., Kamal, M.R., and Cooper, D.G., (1995) Thermolysis of Polyethylene, Polym. Degrad. Stabil., 47(1), 133-139. 

McCaffrey, W.C., and Cooper, D.G, (1995) Sophorolipids Production by Candida bombicola in a Self-Cycling Fermentor, J. Fermentation and Biotechnology, 79(2) 146-151.